A church was broken into and robbed, but when the robbers opened the bank bag, they were no doubt disappointed: it contained only $70,000 in pledge cards from the stewardship campaign. Had they found cash in the bag, the situation would have been very different: the criminals would have made out like, well, bandits, and the church's ministries would have been severely affected. As it was, $70,000 worth of commitment offered them nothing they could take to the bank. To the church, though, $70,000 worth of commitment was worth infinitely more than the cash. It's a promise of faith, a treasure that cannot be stolen. The stewardship letters are out and the pledge cards wait to be returned. While

The title above is an adaptation to Vicki Kemper's Still-Speaking Devotion — Palm-Passion Sunday is a heavy lift. There is so much emotion, drama, rejection, selfishness, greed, pain, and suffering...and I haven't even begun to talk about Holy Week! No matter the title for Holy Week, what took place in those short seven days reminds us of all the things listed above that are a "heavy lift" at any time for any one of us. For the people following Jesus from palms on the road to the road leading to the Temple, to road to the cross, and finally to the road leading to the tomb, had to ask themselves two questions. For those following Jesus who wrote accounts now in our Bible and the people who ca

Most of us who attend progressive congregations such as the United Church of Christ would not declare we are "fundamentalists" in anything — doctrine, scripture, authority, etc. What if someone called you a "fundamentalist," how would you respond? I was recently reading where someone was making the assertion that "most of us are fundamentalists about fundamentalism. We think we are either fundamentally against it or fundamentally for it." However, contrary to what some of us may think, "fundamentalism" isn't the private domain of one group of people. "Fundamentalists" can be found in all walks of life. Consider these "fundamentalists: The jogger going out at 5:30 a.m. on a dark, blustery, bl

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: These are the beginning words to our scripture for this Sunday's message from Ecclesiastes 3. The title of the message is "Time for Every Matter." As we are coming to the conclusion of our sermon series- "Busy: Reconnecting to an Unhurried God," I want us to take a look at the "Trinity of Funerals" and the consequences of viewing them through only one lens. "The Trinity of Funerals" are these: Reading Psalm 23, reading from Ecclesiastes 3, and singing "Amazing Grace." At some point, you may have attended a funeral or memorial service that had at least one of these elements, and probably some that have had all three.