It’s hard to believe that Memorial Day is already behind us, and that means that Summer is fully upon us. It hasn’t felt much like it lately, but we all know the heat is coming: car interiors that are hotter than the face of the sun, golf cart seats that threaten to instantly melt your skin, baseball games that are …
Whether moving from Spring to Summer, from an old job to a new job or from one stage of life into the next (congrats Grads!), changing seasons represents an opportunity. We can either allow the pace of life to sweep us downstream without considering the possibilities of our new season, or we can take the time at the outset to …
I, Shannon, an apostle of Jesus Christ, bring you greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior. I thank God every time I remember you for your enduring love and perseverance throughout the years. Your goodness proceeds you and I pray that it always will. It’s pretty easy to write like Paul isn’t it? Declare who you are in …
When I first became a mom, we had a neighbor named Sue. She and her husband Bill had four grown boys and a few grandkids. She was a wealth of information any time I was overwhelmed because motherhood was all too new to me. Bill and Sue were members of First Presbyterian Church but they never talked to me about …
Sometimes I dream about writing a book. I already have a title in mind: “So You Want to Be the Smartest Person in the Room.” It’s essentially a book to my younger self. I don’t have enough material yet to fill a book, and even if I did, I’m not confident it would sell. But I do have some thoughts …
If you missed last Sunday, I hope you’ll consider watching the service online (here’s a link if you want to watch right now)! It was one of those experiences that we need as a church, not because of the sermon or the music, but because of the commitments that were made during worship. It’s a humbling thing to bear witness to a …
Margaret Wheatley’s 2017 book “Who Do We Choose to Be?” made the rounds in church leadership circles quite effectively in the last 6 years. As she explores the challenges that leaders face in the current climate, she argues effectively that we ought to become ‘islands of sanity’ in a dynamic, ever-changing and chaotic world (while I don’t agree with everything …
It’s tempting to jump from Palm Sunday to Easter, skipping over all the dark and difficult stuff in between. Who doesn’t love to celebrate a winner? The week began with an exuberant parade as throngs of Jerusalem dwellers and tourists cheered for Jesus. The week ended with a bloody corpse stuffed into a small cave after intense pain and humiliation, …
Even with Holy Week (the name we give to the week leading up to Easter) fast approaching, yesterday’s events in Nashville can’t help but derail our plans for celebration. I invite you to pray for the school, the church, the community, the families of the victims and the family of the perpetrator. While this issue is laden with all manner …
The Bible is a little too accessible. Well, maybe that’s overstating the case a little, but here’s what I mean. The accessibility of scripture invites a level of familiarity that is positive on the one hand. It’s obviously good for us to grow in our understanding of the Bible. But there is a shadow side of that accessibility: it tends …
