"Black Lives Matter." Boom - I just created some sort of response in you, perhaps even a strong one. And not the same response in each of you. I understand the reasoning behind the variety of responses. I can create the same range of responses with the phrase "white privilege." How thin is the...
By now, you've likely seen someone you thought was a little too cavalier about the Coronavirus. Or maybe you have second-guessed yourself that you were being a little too carefree about protecting yourself. Should I wash my hands more often? We've all also seen the fear that some have had over...
You've seen it. Maybe at times you've even felt it. Fear. Particularly, fear related to COVID-19. Fear that you or someone you know might get it. Fear to be out in public in high-contact situations. Fear of the economic impact. Fear of losing your rights. Fear that churches will not...
Last Sunday night, our small group met partly in person, partly online for the first time - a "hybrid" group. We had been all online since March. For those in person, we set up a computer to display the video call on a large TV screen to make people more life-sized. Even though we weren't all...
I want to give a shout out for a few who have really gone above and beyond during this time, and I will do so in front of the whole congregation when it's time to. In no particular order: Pete R for all the sound tech and video tech requirements of moving everything online and then...
Once upon a time, there were two trolls. Norris the Troll was known mainly for his incredibly large nose. Most in the forest didn't know if he was nice or mean, artistic or scientific, vegetarian or a frog-eater. Just his big nose. It was so large that he often hurt himself when he opened a door...
When we first started meeting online, we all suddenly felt more distant from each other. Naturally. But as we got the hang of it, we started to forge connections with each other through different means. I was surprised at how well we could still feel connected as a church through a video...
Last Sunday was our first time of leading our online worship service from the church premises. I was surprised at the number of technical details that needed to be resolved just for that simple move from leading on Zoom from our living rooms to leading from the sanctuary. Big kudos to all the...
I'm not holding my breath waiting for COVID-19 to be over with. And by that, I don't mean that I'm not expecting us to ever get out of our homes. Rather, I mean that I'm not just going to wait until most of this is behind us. This is a rich time now! God's power is not weaker than this...
Mental health care professionals are consistently sounding the same concern - CoronaVirus is going to exact a toll on our mental health for years to come. I don't want to be an alarmist, but I do want to get ahead of the mental health curve so that we are all better prepared to handle the...