Why would I bother going to church? I asked the youth this question one Sunday, and their response was the best reason of all:       It feels safe here. I am not judged. I am loved. I’m not bullied or teased. I can be me.   My heart sang as I heard this response.  It is exactly what I want the experience of church to be for anyone who comes through the doors.  It is what I believe it means to live the Way of Jesus: to create caring, respectful, loving space, in which all are welcomed to be just...

We all make a choice about the values, the ideals, and the ethics by which we will live our lives.  If we don’t make a choice, we are in trouble.   In the same way, as parents and grandparents, we make a choice about the values, ideals, and ethics by which we will raise our children.  Yes, they may make a different choice when they are older, but they need to start somewhere. They need a foundation.  If we leave them to their own devices, then they will be in trouble.   We all need to know who we are and...

Through most of human history, a belief in God was assumed.  People could not imagine going through their days without God to guide them, reassure them, and comfort them.   Then, we began to see the world through the eyes of science.  We developed scientific explanations for so many of the things that were previously unknown and alarming.  We now know how a volcano works and why an earthquake happens.  We have the information to know that blizzards or hurricanes do not come as punishment from “the gods.”  We understand more and more of the intricacies of the body and illness,...

Will our kids have faith? It is a question that I have been asked by both elders and parents. Will our kids have faith?   My answer: They already do!  Kids are natural at faith.  They catch the wonder, the mystery, the possibility, and the presence of God. They have theological insights that are deeply profound and challenging. They notice God in the world around them. They watch for and learn from the faith they see in the adults with which they have contact.  Children vibrate with the delight and compassion and mystery of God, and easily welcome it in their...

As we come to the end of Advent, the time in which we prepare to welcome once again the birth of Jesus into our lives and into our world,   we ponder the word “love.”   I invite to pause for a few moments each day, and ask yourself, What is love? Where do you experience love in your life? How do you seek to share radical love in the world around you? Here are some of my thoughts.   Love is a word, that in English, can mean many things. We say, “I love this cookie.” Or “I would love...

As we near the end of Advent, the time in which we prepare to welcome once again the birth of Jesus into our lives and into our world, we ponder the word “peace.”   I invite to pause for a few moments each day, and ask yourself, What is joy? Where do you experience joy in your life? Where do you notice joy, true joy, in the world around you? Here are some of my thoughts.   Joy is not the same as happiness. Joy is something much deeper and much more important. Joy is a deep down feeling that comes...

In these middle days of Advent, the time in which we prepare to welcome once again the birth of Jesus into our lives and into our world, we ponder the word "peace." I invite to pause for a few moments each day, and ask yourself, What is peace? Where would you like peace in your life? Where is there a need for peace in our world? (That’s not a hard one to answer these days, though the achieving of peace may be quite difficult – but there is always hope in God.)   Here are some of my thoughts. Peace is...

In these first days of Advent, the time in which we prepare to welcome once again the birth of Jesus into our lives and into our world, we ponder the word hope.   I invite to pause for a few moments each day, and ask yourself, What is hope? Here are some of my thoughts.   Hope is wanting something to happen. It is a deep desire, something that you want so badly. But it is more than that. Hope is trust that somehow things will work out. It is believing that good things can & will come. It is knowing...

Would Jesus recognize Christianity in North America as his Way? I doubt it.  The more I study the gospels and read the letters of the New Testament, the more I believe that Jesus would be puzzled, if not actually dumbfounded, frustrated, and angered, by some (much) of the presentation of Christianity in North America, since settlers, explorers, and invading armies first arrived.    Jesus said, “Do not judge”  (Matthew 7:1) and yet I hear so much judgement in the voices of people who call themselves Christian.  I truly believe that Jesus would have sat at table with those of the LBGTQ...

Why do I follow the Way of Jesus?  It is a question that each of us who embrace Christianity need to ask ourselves.  And then, for those of us raising children, why do we want to introduce our children to the Way of Jesus and raise them within this faith?   Up until a few decades ago, we weren’t faced with this question.  We lived in a society that was mostly Christian.  On a census form, people typically aligned themselves with one of the Christian denominations, even if they didn’t go to church very often.  Now people feel free to choose...