Dear friends, When I was serving a congregation full time I never particularly liked the years that Thanksgiving showed up just four days before the First Sunday in Advent. Not only did parishioners wear themselves out with holiday feasting, large …

This week’s lessons: Jeremiah 23:1-6 Psalm 46 Colossians 1:11-20 Luke 23:33-43 Dear friends, The cultural calendar is familiar to most everyone and operates pretty much on a linear basis. It starts with New Year’s Day, and is followed in rapid …

This week’s lessons: Malachi 4:1-2a Psalm 98 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13 Luke 21:5-19 Dear Friends, Like the rest of you members of Esperanza I received a commitment card in the mail a couple of weeks ago with instructions to return it …

Job 19:23-27a Psalm 17:1-9 2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17 Luke 20:27-38 Dear Friends, It was reported that last Sunday former president, Jimmy Carter, after a lengthy absence following a fall, returned to his church in Plains, Georgia to deliver his regular …

A note from the Congregation Council: This Sunday will be our first since Pastor Steve Hammer’s retirement. We are pleased to announce that Pastor Steve Holm has graciously agreed to lead worship through Christmas. He has also agreed to share some …

Jeremiah 31:27-34 Romans 3:19-28 John 8:31-36 Life is full of surprises. Thirty years ago, the desert was pretty close to the last place I ever expected to live. Twenty-two years ago, I never imagined I would be serving in parish …

Genesis 32:22-31 Psalm 121 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5 I was in a conversation last week and the topic shifted to “what was the first concert you ever went to?” I assumed that the question related to popular music – I had …

2 Kings 5:1-3, 7-15c Psalm 111 2 Timothy 23:8-15 The events of the past few weeks have taken me back to the early 70’s when the suffix “gate” started to be added to every kind of scandal imaginable. I was …

Habakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4 Psalm 37:1-9 2 Timothy 1:1-14 I have been a serious Anglophile since holding a season tickets to a small theater’s Shakespeare series when I was in high school. Pretty much anything on television with a British accent …

This week’s lessons: Psalm 113 Amos 6: 1a, 4-7 1 Timothy 2:1-7 Luke 16:1-13 I have been enjoying Ken Burns’ newest docuseries on country music. One of the many wonderful stories was about Charley Pride. Pride was not the first …

Amos 8:4-7 Psalm 113 1 Timothy 2:1-8 Luke 16:1-13 My brother lives in Florida and has exchanged blizzard readiness for hurricane readiness. He lives in the central part of the state so all he has really seen is a lot …

Psalm 51:1-10 Exodus 32:7-14 1 Timothy 1:12-17 Luke 15:1-10 Ben Weaver owned the only department store in Mayberry. He also owned a lot of property. He was probably the wealthiest man in town due in no small measure to his …