ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGAugust 23, 2021Prayer for the Week:For the people of Afghanistan –We pray for mercy, Holy One, as we do not know what else our prayers should containImages from the news stories in the media turmoil, fear, repression, sufferingOur hearts break again and again as hopelessness consumes our thoughts as a purgatory of despair covers usYet what we see like so many things in life has a history
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGAugust 22, 2021Guest Writer: Rev. Mariah NewellScripture:1 Corinthians 13:4-8: 4 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice in wrong doing, but rejoices in the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGAugust 21, 2021Scripture: 1st Corinthians 3:16Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? Thought for the Day: There are those who believe they go to church and there are those who believe they are the church. Church attendance will not transform the world. That’s a frightening statement for a pastor to make, yet I do believe participating in a
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGAugust 20, 2021Guest Writer: Dr. Joel Plaag“I wasn’t a great Sunday School student!” the clinician espoused, evoking laughter and nods from the other choral directors in the room. I sat transfixed – this was one of the great choral directors of the USA, and he just said that he hadn’t studied scripture. “I learned it from singing the same works, over and over. I learned it by
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGAugust 19, 2021Scripture: 1st John 1:8-9If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Thought for the Day: Yesterday I wrote a little about change. Later in the day, I was reading and came across a
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGAugust 18, 2021Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:17So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! Thought for the Day: By a quick show of hands: How many people like change? I remember telling someone, “I like change, assuming it is the change I want.” Yet thinking about those words today, I’m not too sure whether I
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGAugust 17, 2021Scripture: Mark 10:13-14People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.” Thought for the Day: During my
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGAugust 16, 2021A Prayer for Our Educators: In the next few days, some of the last details will be checked off the long list of things to do in classrooms around our community. In the next few days, bulletin boards will have a few final touches added. In the next few days, the basic tools of education will be gathered up and put in place. O Creator
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGAugust 15, 2021Scripture: Mark 16:15And Jesus said to the disciples, “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation.” Thought for the Day: I have become convinced that a lot of people believe Jesus said, “Go and make the world in your own image, making sure it meets all your personal needs.” Starting back in the 1970’s, the church became primarily concerned
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGAugust 14, 2021A Prayer for Our Children: You, O Gracious God, created us with an inquisitiveness and curiosity that should never be met with simple or dismissive answers. You created us to explore and examine, to challenge and test. For all the children and youth who will return to school in the days ahead, we pray for their growing brains to expand in every direction possible. As