Category Archives: Church
Nursery in the Sanctuary
At Linda’s church she has turned a corner of their sanctuary into a children’s area where they remain as their parents and grandparents worship. This space is where the organ used to be, to the right of the lectern. An … Continue reading
Five Reasons People Are Turned Off By Church
Jacci Turner on five reasons people get turned off by church and Christianity. 1. Christianity got hijacked in the 70s and 80s by the Moral Majority as a right wing political movement and they “don’t want to be painted with … Continue reading
A Busy Month Begins
A long Saturday. Assisting with the SERRV Shop in the morning, officiating at a funeral in the afternoon, and helping decorate the church in the evening. Plus a hospital visit. Thus a busy month begins. I started using a new … Continue reading
‘Among the muddled middle’
Elaine Robinson attended the General Conference of the United Methodist Church, a quadrennial assembly that ended last week. From the brief accounts I have read, it was a fractured and frustrating experience for most delegates. Here is her reflection: Yet, … Continue reading
The Silence Is Not Empty (Slice of Infinity)
[Jill Carattini writes about silence in Holy Week, focusing on Holy Saturday. I took James Loder, whom she references, for a psychology class at Princeton.] The Silence Is Not Empty Gordon Hempton is of the opinion that you can count … Continue reading
Spiritual and Religious
Diana Butler Bass on a significant change in statistics: What is new? In my research, it’s the “ands.” Those who say they are “spiritual and religious.” In 1999, 54 percent of Americans said they were “religious but not spiritual,” while … Continue reading
To See Things In a New Way
On October 8, at a church in Madison, Wisconsin, Scott Anderson became the first openly gay man ordained in the Presbyterian Church USA. Dr. Mark Achtemeier, a former opponent of gay ordination, gave the sermon for 325 worshipers at Covenant … Continue reading
Robert’s Rules of Purgatory
Yesterday I drove to Findlay for our presbytery’s Committee On Preparation for Ministry meeting. Four hours on the road, and another four in the meeting — that makes a day of it. I am coming to see these meetings as … Continue reading
Dark Smudges
(This is a reprint of something I wrote two years ago about Lent. I think the sentiments here have held up over time.) Lent begins forty days, minus Sundays, before the first Sunday after the first full moon after the … Continue reading
Church Bell
This bell hung in the old Broad Street church and called Methodists to worship for 75 years. Today it sits in a courtyard behind the church building on Maple Avenue. A canopy of branches covers the old bell.
Guaranteed Jobs
The United Methodist Church is studying a change to its appointment system for ministers. The lifetime job guarantee for United Methodist elders is a promise the church can no longer keep, according to a study group… The report, presented to … Continue reading
Guns In the Sanctuary
Last week I led a funeral for a US Navy veteran. The military rites preceded his memorial service, and both took place in the church sanctuary. The men brought the colors up the center aisle and turned to face the congregation. … Continue reading
Evolution In the Church
Tim Stafford continues to study evolution and religion. Lately he is reading John Haught’s book Deeper than Darwin. The world does not exist in a steady state. Rather evolutionary science reveals a universe struggling to become something new. This is … Continue reading
A New Mission Statement
Our mission statement appears on the weekly worship bulletin: “God calls us to share the love revealed in Christ. We dedicate ourselves to know, teach and demonstrate Christ’s love in service to the world.” This statement has served us well … Continue reading
Church Names
Out of Ur has a list of trendy church names. It’s popular to end names in Point(e). We have a GracePoint in our city. Several names on the list evoke images of water — Brook, Well, River. “As the deer…” … Continue reading
Retreat to Old Man’s Cave
Our senior high youth spent the weekend on retreat in the Hocking Hills area of southern Ohio, making a day trip to Old Man’s Cave, a recess cave home in the early 19th century to an old hermit named Richard … Continue reading
Lent and Laundry
I teach a Bible study in our children’s program each Wednesday night. My class this year includes three 5th grade girls. They have a lot of energy, and we often seem at the brink of chaos, but we don’t plunge … Continue reading
Marriage and Membership
Church membership isn’t outdated. It needs to be redefined, Rick Warren said during a conference at Saddleback Church. Skye Jethani reports: Using Scripture to show the importance of commitment to a local congregation, Warren said membership was about being “a … Continue reading
The Ax Comes Out
Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the ax is lying at the root of the … Continue reading
