Category: Claire…ification

‘Tis the season for goal setting and New Year resolutions.  Many of us are likely including renewed commitments to eat healthier, exercise more, and perhaps maintain better balance in our lives.  We might be committing to better stewardship of our financial resources. As unoriginal as it may seem, with Epiphany drawing near, I don’t think […]

Henri Nouwen is one of my favorite Christian authors. I was first introduced to Nouwen’s work a number of years ago when my Sunday School class studied “The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming” which offered a helpful reflection on the meaning of this familiar parable. Our class had lively discussion as […]

The Wisdom of Pelagius Celtic Christian Palagius was a prominent theologian in the early fourth century and some of his teachings have been controversial and significantly misrepresented over the centuries. One of Palagius’ letters that has received criticism follows: “There are some who call themselves Christian, and who attend worship regularly, yet perform no Christian actions […]

Early Sunday morning (around 4:30 am) one of the pastors of our church arrived on our campus to continue his preparation to preach.  When he pulled into the parking lot he noticed 3 teenage boys fleeing the church property, one with a crowbar in his hand. He quickly realized that he had interrupted a spree […]

‘Tis the season! Many churches are in the midst of providing opportunities for us to make a commitment to God through the church as we estimate our giving for the coming year. For some, this is a time to reflect on all of the gifts that we have received from God and to prayerfully discern […]

I recently read an excerpt from a book called “The Art of Theological Reflection” by Patricia O’Connell Killen and John de Beer.  I thought I’d share some quotes from the book and some of my notes with you because it got me thinking and you might find it worthy of reflection too. “What path should […]

A few weeks ago in a gathering with clergy, Bishop Ward reminded us that as we engage with others, we might consider opening with “I could be wrong, but here’s what I think…..”  We must always remain open to the possibility that we don’t know everything and as we listen to the perspectives of others, […]

We expect an incredible amount from our pastors and each of them brings their own unique gifts to ministry.  They are called to preach, administer the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper, they are called to provide pastoral care and to counsel us, and they are called to order the life of the church.  […]

There’s a guy named Jim that I have known for quite a few years.  We have been in a number of small groups together studying the Bible, discussing various books and we’ve both attended a number of gatherings to explore social principles.  We are friends on Facebook and it is clear that Jim and I […]

Sometimes I hear common threads discussed through God’s people in more than one context and it makes me wonder what it is that God might be saying to me! The recent thread is related to a series of conversations that I participated in with others over the weekend related to our acceptance (or lack of) […]