When Leonardo DaVinci was turning 30, he needed a job so he wrote a letter to the ruler of Milan. In the first 10 paragraphs he touted his own success and skill as an engineer who could build bridges, cannons and buildings. And then in the eleventh paragraph, he mentioned …

“What is essential? And what is non-essential?” Krista Tippett raised these two questions in her talk on “Remaking the World” last week. It reminded me of the things I let go of during the pandemic: frenetic activity, relationships that were not life giving, eating out, meetings that could have been …

My eyes were closed. I took a breath. A unison chorus of voices reverberated off of the walls and inside the caverns of my heart. “Our father…Our daily bread…Our debts.” The moment that startled me and gripped me was not the Hallelujah Chorus or the trumpet fanfare or the organ shaking the …

Good Friday turns our attention to the holy mystery of a crucified God. We ponder why God would send love to earth in human form only to let him die as a common criminal. The big theological questions loom on Good Friday as we remember the passion of Jesus and …

“You are drinking chocolate milk even though you gave up sweets for Lent. You are just forming another bad habit,” my 9 year old granddaughter accused her 11 year old sister. It was clearly a taunt. Isn’t it funny how kids can bicker, even over spiritual practices? I tried to …

“Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil.” Forty days. Jesus, our Lord, spent forty days facing trials and temptations, worries and struggles. In a way, it makes no sense …

Our congregation hosted the annual senior minister’s conference last week. About 45 Disciples of Christ clergy from across the US met at the Hotel Intercontinental and in our building for three days of presentations by guest speakers and dialogues among the clergy, all of them interesting and inspiring. On the …

Square dancing and line dancing; hiking and go-carting; horseback riding and fishing; joking and laughing; golfing and crafting are just a few of the vivid memories my family holds of Christian Community Camp in Colorado. But two memories stand out for me. The first one was when Connor was seven …

Stone and stained glass form a church, a physical structure where we gather. Grandmothers and toddlers form a church, a living breathing community singing, praying, sharing bread and wine. Our definition of church has been challenged and stretched during the pandemic. What does it mean to be the gathered people …

The new year has begun with a series of disappointments and delays. I had been looking forward to a special midwinter event in Texas for over a year and today it was converted to a “virtual.” As it sunk in that the relational aspect of the event had vanished, I …