(Message given at Newberg Friends Church on April 5, 2015) One of the things I’ve learned over the years is that there is always a deeper layer of meaning to discover in these huge moments in Jesus’ life, these holidays that truly celebrate holy days. I …
Read MoreCourage and Confidence
(Message given at Newberg Friends Church on March 29, 2015) For those of you who’ve given up chocolate, or coffee, or Diet Coke for Lent…your long suffering is almost at an end! Today is Palm Sunday, when we remember the celebration as Jesus entered Jerusalem, before …
Read MoreLent: Christ Crucified
(Message given at Newberg Friends Church on March 22, 2015) For those of us who have been in the church and around Christians for a long time, I think we tend to forget how strange and foolish the central part of our faith sounds. This season …
Read MoreWearing the right clothes
I ran out of gas last week. As these things usually go, it was a series of wrong choices. The warning light went off on the way to the hospital, but I wanted to get there ASAP for the visit. I forgot about getting gas …
Read More“You don’t understand”–Finding a Path in an Era of Religious and Political Extremism
“You don’t understand…Hamas wants to wipe Israel out of existence, off the face of the earth. I have no compassion for Palestinians.” “You don’t understand…you can talk about love all you want, but if you don’t let gay people live out their sexuality to the …
Read MoreCloud of Witnesses…Ruth
(Message given at Newberg Friends Church on December 1, 2013) I love story. I love tradition and repetition. I love finding the threads and themes that carry through lives and generations and history. Last summer on my sabbatical, one of the surprisingly fun pieces of …
Read More#tbt Why I identify as a Christ-centered Quaker
(Throwback Thursday or #tbt has become a social media convention for posting old pictures. For the next few weeks, I want to use it to re-post some old pieces of writing from my blog that stand out to me as some of the best of …
Read MoreIdentity Killers
(Message given at Newberg Friends Church on Nov. 10, 2013) Colossians 3:12-13 You are God’s chosen people. You are holy and dearly loved. So put on tender mercy and kindness as if they were your clothes. Don’t be proud. Be gentle and patient. Put up …
Read MoreReading resources
I’ve read a lot of different things over the last few weeks, preparing for the last two messages. I thought it might be helpful to post links to several of them, in case others are interested in exploring. I don’t agree with everything written in …
Read MoreFinding Papa (1)
They build roads straight in the midwest. Very straight. So the towns don’t sneak up on you at all. Rolling across the vast flatness, you can see them coming for miles, these little collections of humanity habitat. First you see the heartland skyscrapers: the skyline …
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