NEWS

Scripture: Job 14:1-14 We humans tend to be pain-averse as a general rule. This tendency extends to all manner of discomfort, from physical to mental and spiritual. Even as we sometimes acknowledge that much of our personal growth stems from times of adversity and pain, we would just as soon not experience it. We would more often choose the naiveté of comfort over the wisdom born of adversity and pain. So, maybe it is a good thing that so much of our experiences of adversity

Scripture: Psalm 22 “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” While other lines of scripture may get more attention, this one was so profound that Jesus quoted it and at some point, all of us have heard it and shouted, “Amen” or at least given a deep “uh-hu”. At some point, we have all felt the sting of betrayal, the crushing weight of expectations, the emptiness of failure, or the gulf of grief that seems to separate us from God. “ Yet, ” the Psalmist writes, “ you are hol

Sometimes I take breaks from church. I don’t mean to do it. It’s definitely not planned, but I get into spaces where I fall out of the rhythm of making it in there on Sunday mornings. What you need to know is that I love my church . I’ve been going there for over 20 years, and I’ve seen it through a lot of super huge highs and then some really difficult and sad lows. It is a space of comfort, love, frustration, solidarity, unrest, diversity, peace, frustration, joy…all the th

Link to Isaiah Scripture: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%2050%3A4-9&version=NRSVUE  Link to John Scripture: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2013%3A21-32&version=NRSVUE  Link to Hebrews Scripture: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews%2012%3A1-3&version=NRSVUE   Holy Wednesday arrives quietly, but it does not arrive gently. These are days when tension hangs in the air. We move toward the cross with the awareness that the wo

“Time. Time slows down. The days, months, years…They blur together.” “We’re shut away, or we shut ourselves away. We’re ‘handled’ in groups.” “It’s the same thing for us as it is for trauma victims or older people in the outside world: We have trouble being seen, heard, or believed a lot of the time too.” “Nothing’s new, it’s all the same, and nobody’s noticing. Or rather, nobody seems to care.” ***** These quotes above are from people whose lives have intersected and blessed

Link to Scripture: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2012%3A1-11&version=NRSVUE I am a bivocational pastor who is also a board-certified music therapist. I work in hospice when I am not working for the church. Most of my patients do not know they are dying (due to dementia), but their families do. Frequently, the families share their hopes, concerns, and grief with me. We forget that Jesus had friends and disciples; his talking about his upcoming death would c