ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS April 11, 2026 Tomorrow, we continue with our series entitled: Show Them The Exit. For a church that celebrates an open door and a true spirit of hospitality, it feels a little counterproductive to give a title to anything that suggests we are showing someone the door. All jokes aside, over my years of ministry, I have met too many people who have literally been shown
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS April 10, 2026 The other night, Donna and I caught the movie Nuremberg, starring Russell Crowe and Rami Malek. It was a look at the Nuremberg Trial and much of what went into preparing for the trial. Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring (Crowe), the second in command of Nazi Germany, was being brought to trial, but the United States wanted an Army Psychiatrist, Douglas Kelley (Malek), to watch
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS April 9, 2026 Many people are eager to pack up Easter the day after, much like Christmas. While I understand the desire to anticipate May Day, for those who know what it is, the Christian Calendar includes an entire Season of Eastertide. We transition from Eastertide on Pentecost Sunday, which falls on May 21st this year. Throughout this current season, there are numerous stories, both from
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS April 7, 2026 Guest Writer: Rev. Becky Winders Why We Dress Up in New Clothes at Easter Reflections from Childhood and Faith Easter has always been a time of renewal and celebration, marked not only by the promise of spring but also by cherished traditions. As a little girl, I looked forward to wearing a new dress, a pretty hat, white gloves, and new white shoes
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS April 8, 2026 Though I focused this Easter on Matthew’s telling of the resurrection story, I have always liked a line from Luke’s telling: “But Peter ran to the tomb. When he bent over to look inside, he saw only the linen cloth. Then he returned home, wondering what had happened” (Luke 24:12). After the women gave witness to the resurrected Christ, Peter hightailed it to
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS April 6, 2026 Prayer for the Week: In a world filled with violence and unhinged threats of violence; in a world where too many children experience suffering that is easily avoidable if there were even a semblance of justice and compassion; in a world lost to a dance between arrogance and a delusional lust for power, how can we proclaim that your great gift of love
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS April 5, 2026 Easter Sunday Good morning, people of the resurrection and even those who aren’t too certain about this whole resurrection thing. It’s all good, because at the end of the day, resurrection is not so much about making a claim as it is believing and living that claim. I can make the theological statement that Jesus, the one crucified and buried, was raised from
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS April 4, 2026 It said, “Insufficient memory.” My response was simple, “Tell me something I don’t know.” It was the copy machine at the church that had insufficient memory for the graphic I was trying to print, but at first, I was a little insulted. Joking aside, during these last days of Holy Week, I feel as if I have insufficient mental capacity to absorb it
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS April 3, 2026 Good Friday: In yesterday’s Maundy Thursday Service, we opened with the words from Philippians 2:5-8, “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard e quality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS April 1, 2026 Today, our Jewish siblings are celebrating Passover, though a strange and occasional coincidence, it is also April Fools’ Day. And today is also Wednesday of Holy Week, which is often associated with the disciple, Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus. Some say today, the day before Maundy Thursday, was the day the money exchanged hands between the religious leadership and Judas (Matthew 26:14-16). To