Dearest Community, Happy New Year! A friend of mine always divides people into two groups. There are the types who _______ and the types who don’t _______. You can fill in the blanks (i.e. those who get speeding tickets, hit deer, go to the movies, …). I always found this slightly funny, because I’ve always […]
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Merry Christmas – Pastoral Letter
Dearest Community, Merry Christmas! Over Christmas, I hope you can spend some time with a community of those you love, and who love you right back. I hope that in that mix of love you can experience God-With-Us. May all that love remind us that God is present. And may we see each other, each […]
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4th Week of Advent – Pastoral Letter
Dearest Community, Dear ones, we have entered the last week of Advent, and the start of Winter Break for our students and teachers. I thought I’d take a moment and run through some of what this next week has in store for us. On Wednesday evening, December 21 at 7:00 pm, we will hold our […]
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3rd Week of Advent – Pastoral Letter
Dearest Community, For the third Sunday in Advent, we celebrate “Joy.” I’ve appreciated the Advent readings from Enfleshed this year. This week’s Advent reading is a good reminder that even in the midst of sorrow, we can find joy. And that joy doesn’t come without sorrow but co-exists side by side. That even though there […]
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2nd Week of Advent – Pastoral Letter
Dearest Community, With the weather turning cold and the snow that fell earlier this week (although not enough to close school), it really is starting to feel like Advent to me. I’ve found over the years that sometimes it takes a week or so before it really sinks in. We really are awaiting the birth […]
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1st Week of Advent & Thanksgiving – Pastoral Letter
“Be glad in the Lord always! Again I say, be glad! Let your gentleness show in your treatment of all people. The Lord is near. Don’t be anxious about anything; rather, bring up all of your requests to God in your prayers and petitions, along with giving thanks. Then the peace of God that exceeds […]
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Distracted Prayer – Pastoral Letter
Dearest Community, Have you ever put your phone in the fridge and tried to put the gallon of milk back on the phone cradle? I don’t recall doing that, but I have done similar things with other objects. My mind is on something else. I’m tired. Maybe I’m distracted. I seem to recall this sort […]
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Armistice Day Reflection – Pastoral Letter
Dearest Community, My Grandmother always talked about Armistice Day. I don’t ever recall her speaking of the day as Veterans Day. I can still hear her reciting “the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month” peace was reached. I think the day, for her, had more to do with the end of […]
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Three Square Nails – Pastoral Letter
Dearest Community, This week we received a package in the mail. We curiously opened it, wondering what it could be. Three square nails on a nice backing, with a note on the backside saying, “Square nails from Ferndale Methodist Church 1884” and a nice card. The card explained that in the process of going through […]
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Our Life as a Prayer – Pastoral Letter
Dearest Community, I came across the following quote from Dorothy Day recently and it got me pondering. I believe some people – lots of people – pray through the witness of their lives, through the work they do, the friendships they have, the love they offer and receive from people. Since when are words the […]
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