The Pastor's Blog

A Fresh Perspective on Lent     Ash Wednesday calls each of us to forty days of self-examination and repentance that is the Season of Lent…a time to receive forgiveness and to be spiritually renewed and restored to God.  It is an ancient and widely accepted practice of God’s people, or so I thought.  But, Ash Wednesday is not actually a practice that is shared by all Christians around the world.  Our Eastern Orthodox Church does not celebrate Ash Wednesday and they don’t obse

The Last Supper; Conversations That Led to the Cross -Will Willimon   This year during Lent a group of us, that you are most welcome to join, will be studying Will Willimon’s book, The Last Supper .  It is going to be a challenging and enlightening experience as we journey with Jesus on the road to Jerusalem from Palm Sunday to Maundy Thursday and beyond.  Along the way we will dig deeply into the stories, parables, and what Willimon calls “riddles” Jesus told as he approache

Christmas and Easter are undoubtedly the two most transformative events for Christians and even for humankind as a whole: the coming of Jesus Christ into the world and his death and resurrection.  Both remind us of God’s unconditional and unlimited love for us all.   New Year’s Day, on the other hand simply marks the beginning of another year on our calendar.  In the Old Testament God’s people did celebrate the beginning of what they saw as a new year.  For them it was a day

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.. for a child has been born for us, a son given to us… -Isaiah 9:2, 6   Advent is a season of waiting, expectation, and preparation, as we prepare to celebrate Jesus’ birth while also waiting with heightened expectation to his final return at the end of the age.  But, how did the season of Advent actually become a major part of the church liturgical year?   Well, it all began with the pagans who, back in Neolithic time