Transcript of the video: Loving Our Neighbors as ourselves Advent 2020
We cried, we sighed, and each word was a prayer. The conversation ended with a recommendation to session to vote to suspend in-person worship.
What followed was an amazing exercise of God’s Love in Action, appropriate as the upcoming Sunday in Advent is themed “Love”.
From the Pastor's Corner - Being Our Best Selves
My wish for you is that you may embark on a journey of discovery - who are you at your core self, how does that self influence how you express yourself in your environment, and can you use that knowledge to understand your best self that you may become whole and complete?
Talking With, Talking At
Jesus certainly had his moments of frustration, and he certainly shouts at the Pharisees, even as he is teaching and instructing and talking with his disciples. Read Matthew 23 for one of the many examples of Jesus' frustration.
"I Want to Tell You a Story..."
What story can you envision with each of these ideas? How does each enhance the mission of SUPC?
Stewardship in Crisis
The writer expressed that the 6-8 month mark of a continuing crisis is the time to be the most gentle with ourselves and with those around us, and to remember how we feel in this time, and apply the lesson of gentleness whenever we find ourselves at the wall again.
Mission House
This is a year of the forgotten. The isolation we have each faced, on top of the isolation that naturally happens in the general course of life unless we work to counteract it, has made each of us The General, looking at the lively young entertainers with their glittering lives, who will breeze into this inn, and whirl out again, leaving The General behind.
Looking Ahead
What can we hope for? What makes life worth living? What can we look forward to when so much is still being denied us?
Autumn - the Turning of the Year
This autumn season, I would have you join me in an exercise involving trees. The tree is preparing for something new to grow. Are you prepared to welcome God's renewed Word to your life? Are you ready for Emmanuel?
80-Day Kindness Challenge Pledge and Prayer - week 2
Action: This week is the Presbyterian Week of Action for Black Lives Matter. Follow this link to see what PCUSA is doing nationally, the history and theology behind the movement, and what you can do to be part of the conversation.
80-Day Kindness Challenge Pledge and Prayer
This kindness calls out injustice, it cannot ignore the pain of oppression. This kindness does not stand for bullying or false stories, it corrects narratives that go awry from slanderous sources. This kindness knows that it will not always be accepted, so it stands a shield to protect those who are under attack by institutional systems of authoritarian control. This kindness works for justice for God's people - the poor and oppressed.
Casual Interactions
What happened when the lives we know, those casual interactions that seem tiny but are actually vital, vanish?
Generosity in Adversity
I hope you find inspiration and encouragement for your own justice efforts as we learn about Peace witness around the globe.
Let Us Break Bread Together, Apart at Home
This is a video for celebrating communion at home with family
Day Camp Update
if there is one lesson 2020 has taught us, we are stronger when we look for creative solutions together and treat one another with grace and love
Caution or Fear? Try Love
If there is one lesson this half year has taught us, it is that we have a chance to reimagine who we are, a chance to grow from the ashes of this year, to be something new, remembering and honoring the past, and stepping forth boldly in love to an unknown future.
Music of the Spheres
This pandemic experience has reinforced for me how connected we are with each other. We each have the power to lift another person up, to affirm someone's needs, or the power to push another person aside, force someone else to make accommodation for our own existence.
Signs of Covenant and the Breath of Life
As Christians, we live in covenant relationships. I will follow the covenant agreement that we all may worship in as safe a manner as we are able.
Revisiting Lessons...
The books pictured above were just a few of the books I read as part of my theological education at CRCDS.