ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGJuly 27, 2021Guest Writer for Today’s Etching: Rev. Paula GembalaWhen I was a child, I would go to church with my mother and my siblings. I loved to sit and sing the hymns with her and the rest of the congregation. One Sunday when I was around 13, they were singing “Just As I Am.” As I was singing, I felt an urge to go to the
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGJuly 26, 2021Prayer for the Week: As the Psalm suggests – it is right for us to praise you, O God – to lift our voices, no matter the song or the prayer or the proclamation. It is good for us to honor you, yet how often do we fall into the trap of placing ourselves at the center of the universe. It is easy to allow
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGJuly 25, 2021Scripture: Luke 22:40When Jesus reached the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not come into the time of trial.” Thought for the Day: One more day on this relatively obscure passage from Luke. When Jesus invites his disciples to pray that they not come into a time of trial, I believe he is implying the opposite to be true. Yet what exactly
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGJuly 24, 2021Scripture: Luke 22:40When Jesus reached the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not come into the time of trial.” Thought for the Day: I am back to the same passage as yesterday, but there is more to be found in this relatively short verse. It speaks of Jesus reaching “the place.” In the previous verse, it says that Jesus “went, as was
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGJuly 23, 2021Scripture: Luke 22:40When Jesus reached the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not come into the time of trial.” Thought for the Day: Jesus and his disciples have just left the magnificence of the upper room where they experienced the light of love, but now they’ve entered the darkness of the night. In a loving way as only Jesus could do, he
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGJuly 22, 2021A guest Etching from Dr. Joel PlaagThis is story is an excerpt from his upcoming book: “A Choir Director’s Notes,” by Dr. Joel Plaag, to be released in 2021. Used with permission. Working on a virtual fall event for the church with other staff, we experimented with “breakout rooms” in the virtual meeting space. As we started our conversation, we had all kinds of complicated
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGJuly 21, 2021Scripture: Proverbs 16:24Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body. Thought for the Day: When I lived in Florida, there was a group of pastors I met with every Wednesday morning for breakfast. I was the small fish among some of the big pastoral fishes in town, and I appreciated that time. On more than one occasion, one
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGJuly 20, 2021Scripture: Zechariah 7:8-11The word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying: Thus says the Lord of hosts: Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another; do not oppress the widow, the orphan, the alien, or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another. But they refused to listen, and turned a stubborn shoulder, and stopped their ears in
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGJuly 19, 2021Prayer for the Week: O Living Christ, you enter our communities, our homes and our lives. You enter, but are you received with joy? Your presence reminds us of all that is expected of us as followers of your enfleshed presence, all that was taught and revealed. Let us make room for you in the center of our communities, our homes and our lives. Let
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGJuly 18, 2021Scripture: John 6:66-67At this, many of Jesus’ disciples turned away and no longer accompanied him. Jesus asked the Twelve, “Do you also want to leave?” Thought for the Day: That is a very uncomfortable question to be asked. When nothing is on the line, and we are reading these words casually, it is easy to say out loud, “I’m with you, Jesus. All the way,