ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS December 4, 2025 The actor, Bradly Whitford (played Josh Lyman on the tv show West Wing), said, Some days you wake up ready to change the world. Other days… changing your socks feels ambitious. I both laughed and nodded in full agreement. There are a handful of questions I commonly receive as a minister, and though it might not be at the top of the list,
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS December 3, 2025 Yesterday, a delightful memory surfaced on social media. It was 13 years ago that Bruce experienced one of his very interesting/funny bulletin snafus. Back when we used to have actual bulletins, I would send the components I was responsible for, while others would contribute their pieces. A third party would then assemble everything. I rarely got to see the final product before Sunday,
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS December 2, 2025 Yesterday, while my wife and I were on the phone with the insurance company, attempting to get our 2026 medical insurance figured out, the person to whom we were talking was unable to provide us with any answers. We were told that we would receive a call back within 24 hours. Funny thing, I had made a call to them on a completely
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS December 1, 2025 Prayer for the Week: O God of this sacred season, a season of waiting and preparing, we enter this first week of Advent with hope and a spirit of expectation. Awaken us to the possibilities found within every moment of every day. Amidst the myriad of voices vying for our attention and our credit card numbers, guide us back to the present moment.
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS November 30, 2025 Today, we begin our Advent Series: Do not let the “joy” crush you! Some of you might be thinking that if you’re going to be crushed by something, joy might be the very thing you’d choose. I can understand that perspective, but I’m concerned that our definition of joy might not be as cute and fluffy as some might believe. It’s not the
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS November 29, 2025 How do you manage to slow down when everything around you seems to be speeding up, and there’s an overwhelming expectation that we should accomplish so many things in a short amount of time? Let’s be honest, it’s not an easy task, but it’s definitely not impossible. How much of the challenge is tied to a certain fabled perception of what this season
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS November 28, 2025 As I write this on Thursday evening of Thanksgiving, I am eating some leftovers from an earlier feast, while my wife watches “It’s a Wonderful Life” in the other room. It is my favorite Christmas movie, and I find the time to watch it every year. Though in this moment, I have to laugh because it feels like a threshold moment—still eating some
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS November 27, 2025 I am thankful this day for all those throughout Christian history, including some people I know very well, who are trying to maintain a very clear picture of a Christianity that reflects Jesus. A little over a week ago, I had an online conversation with someone (gave me permission to mention the conversation in my blog) who is absolutely captivated by the Jesus
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS November 26, 2025 Yesterday’s Etching on the topic of a green smoothie spilled everywhere in my kitchen was written early in the day on Monday, so before we experienced tornados in our area. A number of people, including a few who experienced some damage from the storm, found the message to be somewhat appropriate. Let’s be clear, a spilled smoothie should not be equated to the
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS November 25, 2025 I buy some smoothies every month from a place called Daily Harvest. I like the healthiness of the ingredients, and there is one in particular that I was looking forward to having this month. It is a chocolate mint, with spinach and banana. I made that smoothie yesterday with coconut milk, and I couldn’t wait to enjoying every drop. The problem is that