I was doing so well with my attempt at Advent preparation, and then this week came and I fell down on the job. I totally forgot to post my reflection yesterday. Sometimes I’m jealous that Mary ended up pregnant because it didn’t require too many attention to details. In lieu of an Advent reflection, how about we all take a moment to…

Today’s Advent Reflection is a poem entitled “Advent Prayer” by Henri Nouwen Lord Jesus, master of both the light and the darkness, send your Holy Spirit upon our preparations for Christmas. We who have so much to do seek quiet spaces to hear your voice each day. We who are anxious over many things look forward to your coming among us. We…

Prepare Strange how one word will so hollow you out. But this word has been in the wilderness for months. Years. This word is what remained after everything else was worn away by sand and stone. It is what withstood the glaring of sun by day, the weeping loneliness of the moon at night. Now it comes to you racing out of…

One of my favorite sweatshirts is from Hope College. This is one of three colleges associated the Reformed Church in America. It’s the college where my parents and my grandparents all met one another. It’s a place that’s just referred to as “Hope” in my family. Over the years, Hope hasn’t been a particularly “hope-filled” place for me. They are pretty well…

Today’s Advent Reflection is a poem is from Madeleine L’Engle   “After Annunciation”   This is the irrational season when love blooms bright and wild. Had Mary been filled with reason there’d have been no room for the child.

On the domed ceiling God  is thinking: I made them my joy, and everything else I created I made to bless them. But see what they do! I know their hearts and arguments: “We’re descended from Cain. Evil is nothing new, so what does it matter now if we shell the infirmary, and the well where the fearful and rash alike must…

This Advent season we are experimenting with bringing all-ages coloring to our coffee and community hour after worship. The church purchased these big, beautiful Advent coloring posters and this past Sunday a whole bunch of our folks got down to business and colored the first one in. Here’s a shot of the action:  As I watched our community gather around the first…

I don’t like to be still for very long. New York is the perfect city for me – fast paced, lots of activity. New Yorkers are not known for being still for very long – we have a hard time waiting for the subway, and jaywalk when we can. I’m much better at “doing” than “being.” I tend to think that I…