We had been walking for about two hours, leaving the town of Dilijan behind, heading into the surrounding woods, when we saw the ancient stones marking the entrance. We were standing before the Matosavank monastery, built in 1247. “Let’s go inside,” I nudged Daniel, my son, who had brought me to this place. It was … Continue reading Our Sacred Space
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
Throughout our lives, we are changing, learning, growing – we may feel we are pretty much the same person we were yesterday, and we may expect that we will wake up tomorrow as pretty much the same person we are now, yet in truth we are always in a process of becoming. This is true … Continue reading Becoming
Transcript: Just to be upfront. In these musings I am asking for your support. Imagine the pandemic 50 years ago, or even 20 years ago. With the church building closed and little technology around to keep us connected, I suspect our sense of community and the role of church in our lives … Continue reading Coming to Church in PJs
Our theme for worship and faith development this month asks us to explore this question – and I encourage you to think about how you will explore it intellectually, how you will explore it emotionally, how you could incorporate the question into your personal spiritual practices, and how you might act as an agent of … Continue reading What Does It Mean to Be a People of Healing?
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
Thank you. Seriously. For allowing me to have generous time off this summer, to breathe, to replenish, to regain perspective, to listen to wise and entertaining voices on podcasts, audio recordings, and on film. And to read and reflect, connect with family and friends, and to sit and pay attention to my body, to my … Continue reading Returning, with gratitude
Our mission has never felt as relevant as today: Connecting in love and service, growing spiritually, transforming ourselves and the world. In record time, we’ve had to transform ourselves from a brick & mortar, relish-in-person-proximity, love-to-share-food-and-hold-hands kind of congregation into an online, phone-line, keep your physical distance kind of community. None of us know the … Continue reading Church in a Time of Pandemic
So much of what we love to do together happens in close physical proximity – the sharing of food, our worship, the singing, holding hands, playing games, eating chocolate, sitting in circles, or embracing one another as we show our care and affection. Now, as always, and perhaps more than ever, we need each … Continue reading Suspending All In-person Church Activities
