Someone described parenting to me as “long days, but short years;” an excellent reminder of time’s ability to move at different speeds simultaneously, as well as life’s sense that things will always be as they are until something reminds us that nothing remains the same forever. So I find myself...
In a recent Epistle reading (James 2:1-10, 14-17) the author considers: “What good is it…if you say you have faith but do not have works?” In other words, what’s the point of speaking about faith but not acting upon it? Being Christian demands a certain way of being in the...
With fall around the corner, I thought it may alleviate some anxiety to know what next steps are for our good work with community ministries and pastoral care. Above all, we want to give ourselves time to listen for the Spirit, to see how we need to focus the new...
I want to share with you that Brenda Morgan is retiring on April 30, after having worked on the Grace Church staff since 1998. Brenda has been a stalwart presence in the life of the parish for many, many years, and her institutional memory has helped strengthen the roots of...
I wanted to share with you all that Crossroad Publishing Company has put out my first collection of poetry, Bones of Light: Poems of Spiritual Imagination. I am very humbled that they were willing to do this, and it is scheduled to be released on Easter--which feels very appropriate. The...
At key intervals in a parish’s life, it is important to pause and discern how we understand our common mission as a community who seeks to be the Body of Christ in this particular time and place. Grace has an existing Mission Statement that, honestly, we have not used much...
The Rev. Dr. Brandon Nonnemaker will begin on Monday, July 24 with his first day in the office. I am enormously grateful for him, for Mallory and their two sons Fletcher and Finley, as they settle in here to begin with the community at Grace. I remain grateful for the...
Our Life in the Light of God On Sunday, September 10, I will begin a new special Sunday forum series in the Parish Hall. If you are new to the parish, you may wonder just where “all this” came from, with the liturgy, the vestments, the names and words, and...
A Reflection on the Coronation of King Charles III In a couple weeks’ time, much of the world’s attention will focus on the coronation of King Charles III and Camilla, the Queen Consort, in Westminster Abbey, in London. Some in the parish have already said they are setting early alarms...
As you will remember, we held a special forum a few weeks back that laid out the focus points for this reoriented Bicentennial Capital Campaign. We shared how the Building and Grounds and Finance Committees, and the Vestry, all agreed that it was good to focus on a more functional...