So often lately I’ve found myself shouting at the radio, “Why don’t you come to church?”  No, it is not the radio that I want to come to church.  It is the people behind a certain news item I’ve heard.   A recent study showed that loneliness is as detrimental to the health as smoking.  It also showed that loneliness was of epidemic proportions, especially among those in their late 20s, mid 50s, and late 80s.  It was as I listened to the report of this study that I started shouting, “Come to church!”   Another report talked about the benefits...

I have decided that I will NOT use the ME Rewards sent to me weekly by the Co-op Stores. ME Rewards is their new promotion, standing for Member Experience.  But when I opened up the first ME Rewards e-mail and scrolled down, what jumped off the page for me was ME, ME, ME, ME!    And what I thought was – we teach our pre-schoolers not to say, ME, ME, ME, ME!  But here are these awards that are saying, ME, ME, ME, ME!  And this from a cooperative store that was founded on the principle that everyone benefits when we...

I am not so happy today – and that’s okay. We all have our days – frustrated days, sad days, dull days, lonely days, and happy days. But they are not all happy days. Yet, that is the message we get in advertising and over social media. It can appear that everyone is having HAPPY days – great parties, wonderful dinners, fabulous vacations, exiting adventures – everyone except us!   The truth, however, is a very different story. Loneliness, anxiety, and depression are on the rise in our society. Behind the masks and smiles and fancy parties lies the reality that...

How many pairs of socks do I or my children really need? That question confronted me as I read an article in an archaeology magazine that told the story of a young upper-class boy, attending a boarding school in the 1500s, who had only two pairs of socks. His personal tutor at the school had written to his parents asking that they provide a third pair of socks for this lad, since the two pair he had with him had been mended many times and were almost beyond repair. The article went on to describe that socks at the time were...

“I love the Christmas season; it’s Christmas Day I hate.” So said one of the youth in our congregation. An interesting statement, and one that perhaps others of us might echo.   There is something amazing about this season, when we focus on and celebrate love and generousity and joy. Not knowing the actual date of Jesus’ birth, the early Christians chose the time of the Winter Solstice, the season with the longest nights and shortest amount of daylight, to celebrate the coming of Jesus, the Light of the World.   One can easily imagine how profound the celebration of Christ’s...

What is hope? And how do we teach hope to our children? Both of these are challenging questions. Let’s start with defining hope!   The dictionary definition of ‘hope’ speaks of anticipation and desire, and wanting something to happen. However, if we speak of ‘hope’ from a faith perspective, it is something more. The hope of which we speak is not like writing a wish list for our birthdays or a letter to Santa and then desiring or expecting to receive at least some of what was on the list.   Hope, within the Christian faith, goes much deeper. It is...

What is truth? Now that’s an interesting, if not difficult, question in today’s society. Then there is the word “fact,” which should be something that is provable and demonstrable, but again we see the questioning of facts, even in the face of evidence. Fact and opinion used to be opposites, but now it seems that there has become more and more of a fluidity between the two. We have people who, if they do not like a particular fact, declare it as fake. Somehow I always thought that fake and fact were opposites – but it seems, at least to some...

What is love? Talk about an over-used word in our society. We can love a car. We can love a child. We can love a cookie. We can love a friend. We declare, “Oh, I love that dishwasher.” But also declare to another person, “I love you.”   This one little word has so many uses that its meaning has become diluted, I believe. While expressing such a precious feeling on one hand – the love of another human being, it also is used to express desire for something really quite inconsequential, such as a cookie or a car or a...

What is grace? That’s not a word that is used much in our society. We might use “graceful,” meaning someone who moves gently, with a fluid, pleasing elegance. But “grace” – now that is a church word. So what do we mean by it?   Grace is one of the most profound words in the Christian vocabulary. What it means is to freely offer unconditional love. Unconditional! No strings attached! Nothing demanded! Nothing expected! No thought of repayment! Unearned, unexpected, unmerited! Doesn’t matter what the person on the receiving end has done, what their attitude is like, or how they respond....

What is faith? Quick, don’t ponder, just respond. What is the first thing that you would say when asked to define “faith?” Actually, I suspect that most of us had no quick reaction, and responded with “uhhh, well..” I’ve lived and worked in the area of faith for about 30 years now, and I still couldn’t give a quick answer. If you go to the dictionary, faith is associated with words such as trust, belief, confidence, and loyalty, and these are directed toward a person, God, or religion. Yet, somehow that doesn’t begin to capture the role that faith plays in...