Lisa McCleish, Director of Early Childhood Programs The cold and snowy winter frequently prevented the children from playing outside the past few months. We are blessed to have large spaces like the Social Hall and the Pine Room where we can run around and use up some of that endless energy that Read More...
By Rev. Tyler Heston, Minister to Youth “I’m the only girl in my P. E. class.” “I didn’t know my friend was adopted.” “I remember being overwhelmed the first day of calculus, when I was the only freshman in an all-junior class.” “I didn’t know that childhood friend was actually a second-cousin.” The Read More...
What is saving your life right now? Years ago Barbara Brown Taylor was invited to speak at an Episcopal church. “What should I talk about?” she asked the priest. “Just talk about what is saving your life right now,” the priest responded. It’s a wonderful question that rolls around in my brain Read More...
It was 4 a.m. and I was groggy-eyed on the way to catch a 6 a.m. flight, when I heard about the massacre of fifty worshippers in New Zealand. I confess that initially I only felt numb. One more shooting. We all know what follows: talk of sensible gun laws and improved Read More...
Dina Pannabecker Evans, Executive Director of Operations If you were in the sanctuary for the 11:00 a.m. service on Sun., Mar. 10, you heard Steve Bough make an announcement about the next scheduled Pick-Up Choir and Pick-Up Orffestra for Sun., Mar. 31. Steve’s lively announcement started with his informing the congregation that Read More...
Rev. Catherine Stark-Corn, Minister to Children and Families The final pile of snow has left my yard. It was in a corner where it had accumulated higher than other spots due to windy days and stayed there far too long due to lack of sun. The disappearance of that lingering snow feels Read More...
My father in law, Jacob Ehman, was a German farm boy in North Dakota. He met my mother-in-law, Helen, a German farm girl, on a Ferris wheel ride in Ashley, North Dakota. Helen and Jake bought a small mobile home and hauled it to New York, parking it near the seminary where Read More...
I met Tim when I was visiting Yale Divinity School as a prospective student. We became fast friends when I began my first year and he began his last. He was Southern Baptist from Back Swamp, North Carolina. After dinner he sat at the piano in the common room sang James Taylor Read More...
By Lara Schopp, Director of Communications The snow crunches under my running shoes. I exhale a white cloud, inhale ice crystals. My fleece, thermal socks and ear warmer have coordinating bright orange details. I have cabin fever and have decided frigid temps, gray skies and slush-covered streets won’t keep me from my Read More...
Dr. Mike Graves, Scholar in Residence and Minister of Spiritual Formation Among the church staff, there is something of a standing joke. When it’s your turn to write a piece like this one for the newsletter, if you don’t have it in by Tuesday noon when we meet, the draft will feature Read More...
The city came and chopped down the diseased Ash tree between the sidewalk and the street in front of our house. And just recently, a red flag appeared in the snow, and a note saying they would soon be replacing the tree with a new planting. I laugh every time I back Read More...
Mother Teresa, Janis Joplin and Princess Diana are three women I have admired from a distance but for very different reasons. Mother Teresa’s autographed photograph hung on my office wall for many years because of her devotion to loving the poor and lifting them up. One of my fondest family memories is Read More...
Their love was forbidden. Their marriage was a secret. They lived most of their days apart and in solitude. But nothing could thwart their devotion to each other. It was medieval France and priests were not allowed to marry. His name was Peter of Abelard and her name was Heloise. The story Read More...
Anne Haraughty, Ministries Coordinator If you were fortunate enough to attend Pathways to Learning last Sunday morning, you may still be digesting the information that was presented. Pakou Ker, Principal and Lead Organizer of the Tseng Development Group, led the first of two sessions concerning racial equity. She challenged us to name Read More...
By Joe Walker, Minister of Congregational Care Email ads almost never make my heart soar. But this one did. Late the other night I received an ad for t-shirts commemorating the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Apollo XI mission. The 50th anniversary of walking on the Moon?! Groovy! My whole being was Read More...
