Pastor’s Ponderings

Last week, I talked about what we do in each Sunday worship service. We start by making a transition from what we have been doing to give our attention to God and the things of God. We gather, we settle into the worship space, we pause, we join our voices in a...

Not every church worships in the same way. Some congregations have guitars and praise music, while others have an organ or piano. Some churches worship in a space that resembles an auditorium, while others sit in a circle of folding chairs.  Some churches emphasize...

The "Grand Reopening" of the New Nursery will be on Sunday, September 22!  Special thanks to Fred Schumacher for his diligent efforts and ongoing optimism in coordinating all of the contractors who worked on this project and in managing the many obstacles that crept...

I had coffee with an acquaintance last week. We were both interested in learning more about each other. It turns out we had overlapped a bit at the same high school years ago and had some friends in common.   It was a good conversation. We didn’t talk about what...

Today we held a memorial service for Eleanor Bowersox, a longtime member of Calvary United Methodist Church. We heard remembrances of her life, and we were reminded once again of God’s steadfast love that is available not only in this life but in the life that is to...

Here is a prayer that was written by a friend and colleague, Rev. Ginger Gaines Cirelli, the Lead Pastor of Foundry United Methodist Church in Washington, DC. God who is beyond politics and nations, Christ who transcends the power of violence, Holy Spirit who animates...

Surprising (and somewhat troubling) words in the New Testament  (part 2) Last week, I lifted up a couple of the surprising things that Jesus says in the Gospel. When you take time to read the New Testament beyond the Gospel, you will find still more rather shocking...

Surprising (and somewhat troubling) words in the New Testament  (part 1)   When you take time to read the gospels, you will find some rather shocking things that Jesus had to say. He challenges us to live by an altogether different standard. It’s not at all...

This week, I am filling church folk in on issues in our buildings. Last Sunday was a bit warm in the building. Sometime late on Saturday (it always blows on a Saturday), a fuse on an exterior transformer blew. Potomac Edison was able to replace it by 10 a.m. on Sunday...

This month I am taking some time to look at several episodes in the life of Simon Peter. Simon Peter was among the to be called as a disciple. At times he showed genuine faith and at other moments he faltered terribly. By looking at some of the episodes in Gospels, we...