Pastor’s Ponderings

Usually, the week between Christmas and New Year’s is a great time for preachers to catch their breath. After the big push to Christmas, there is a few days when things slow down. It’s a time for looking at “The Best of …” lists for best books, movies, tv shows and...

Light is tied to the Christmas story in several ways: The Gospel of John points to Jesus Christ as the Light of the world “The True light that illumines everyone” John 1:9 There is the account of shepherds who were keeping watch over the flocks by night when an angel...

We are currently planning to hold several worship options for Christmas eve. We will be offering two virtual worship services online that can be viewed at your convenience. One service will be more focused on the children’s Christmas pageant and the other a more...

I was on a zoom call a couple of weeks ago. The district superintendent invited pastors to see one another on the little boxes that fill the computer screen. It’s become a way we see other people, sometimes the only way to see other people, whether it’s members of the...

Special Announcement  Brian Ganz, pianist, is recording in our Sanctuary this week his annual "All Chopin" performance. It will be aired on WETA, Channel 26, this Sunday, December 6 at 7 p.m., free of charge. There are two other streaming options, see details below....

I hope that no matter how you spend the day and no matter who you spend it with this year, Thanksgiving Day will be a restful and restorative day for you and those you love. It’s a great thing that we in this country take at least this one day each year to stop and...

Last Sunday in our worship services, I used a prayer by William Sloan Coffin, the chaplain of Yale University and pastor of Riverside Church in New York in the 1980’s. The prayer is entitled, “A Prayer for the Church in These Times.” Even though the prayer was written...

Wednesday, Nov. 11 is Veterans Day. This holiday began as “Armistice Day” the day in which WWI was ended. Now we celebrate the peace that came after that that war, but all those who have served in the military to protect and defend this nation.     A Prayer...

It’s been a challenging time for all of us. We are weary with the pandemic and the restrictions imposed on us and there doesn’t seem to be any quick end in sight. On Sunday, we remembered the lives of those in our congregation and friends and family who have died this...

Earlier this month, I spent a couple of days in the George Washington National Forest in Virginia.  I took in the fall colors and spent two nights in the woods snuggled in a cocoon of my sleeping bag. I followed a trail that looped into the wilderness and went up and...