Do you use sustainable practices at home, attend church and family events, and donate clothes or toys to local causes? Would you like to actively participate in acts of kindness in your community, and engage in practices that put our faith into action? Would you like your children to engage in these things as well? … Continue reading Minister’s Challenge is Back
As the end of my ministry in Concord draws near and I get ready to say goodbye, I am filled with both gratitude and grief. I knew, when I joined the staff, that in many ways it meant I would lose my home congregation. The relationship between a minister and congregants can be very friendly … Continue reading When a Minister Leaves
As I sit to write these words, it is a perfect summer day. A cool front has cleared out the smoke from the western wildfires, and my windows are open to take in the pleasant breeze. Yesterday’s meeting of the Pandemic Policy Team (PPT), however, still casts a shadow on my mood. We are returning … Continue reading Faith Development for Children in Uncertain Times
A reflection from the Rev. Scott Tayler and the team at Soul Matters There’s a natural, and important, go-getter quality to this month’s theme of Commitment. After all, huge payoffs come when we keep our commitments. Maintaining loyalty to healthy habits not only lengthens our lives but enriches them. Faithfully following through on our relationship … Continue reading What Does it Mean to be a People of Commitment?
You can now watch and listen to Minister’s Musings on our YouTube Channel. Click here for January’s message. Our January theme asks us to explore the role of imagination in our lives – in our inner lives, in our relationships with others, in our institutions, and in our connection to all that is. I think … Continue reading What Does it Mean to be a People of Imagination?
September has always felt more like the New Year to me than January, so I’m grateful that our first monthly theme for this church year is Renewal. It was also supposed to be our theme last April, but we were three weeks into all-online church when April began, and Adaptation felt like the only relevant … Continue reading A Message of Renewal
Whether December delights you or depresses you, I can assure you of this: it will not last. Many of us will decorate our homes for Solstice, Hanukkah, and/or Christmas (if we haven’t already), remembering holidays past as we bring out candles, ornaments, maybe those cookie-cutters that only get used once a year. We will sing … Continue reading Winter Holiday Impermanence
October’s themes of Belonging and Commitment are a serendipitous pairing. Our Children’s Sunday School theme is Belonging while our worship theme is Commitment, and that raises some deep questions for me and maybe for you. What does it look like to be a congregation committed to the idea that children belong to the congregation? What … Continue reading Belonging and Committment
Our Second Hour and Sunday School classes have entered “Vacation Mode,” but faith development is so much bigger than what happens on Sunday mornings, and I want to encourage all of us – me included! – not to give our spiritual lives short shrift during the summer. Days are long – where will you make … Continue reading Summertime Faith
What a year of growth and learning this has been! As we prepare to wrap up our first year of Second Hour adult faith development programming and Sunday School classes after morning worship rather than before or during, it’s a time of taking stock. What went well? What were the challenges? What did we learn … Continue reading What’s next for Lifespan Faith Development?
