Sorry for the confusion! Last weekend when I challenged all of you to be “guerilla greeters,” it was apparently confusing for some. So, no—I did not mean “gorilla” as in “ape-like” or “simian.” I meant “guerilla” as in stealthy, alert…even a little sneaky. If you missed St. Andrews weekend, you are completely confused by now, […]
St. Andrews, Saints, and Seahawks
The first time I laid eyes on St. Andrews, Scotland, an immediate love affair began. I returned last summer for the umpteenth time…and it never gets old for me. I love the layout of the town, how its two main streets funnel you toward the ancient cathedral, which took 160 years to build! (King Robert […]
What courage!
In this world of 24-hour news cycles and short attention spans, something that happened ten days ago is SUCH old news. But I cannot allow a momentous answer to our prayers and fasting pass without one more comment. A week ago Friday, Pastor Andrew Brunson was in a Turkish court for the fourth time on […]
Our First Seahawk Saturday!
Three years ago we launched a Saturday night worship service called, cleverly, Saturday Night at Chapel Hill! It was a somewhat risky venture because, except for our Catholic friends, no church in the community has been able to sustain a Saturday night service. But we felt it was worth trying for a couple reasons. First, […]
A Worldwide Family Reunion
I come from a very small family. One sister, no aunts, no uncles, no cousins. We could hold our family reunions in a phone booth. (For you millennials who don’t know what a “phone booth” is, Google it.) But when I married Cyndi, I was welcomed into a very large, very scattered and very diverse […]
Welcome Home!
Whether you are a member, a regular, or one of the many, many visitors that joined us this summer, you are warmly invited to “Welcome Home” weekend as we launch our new program year. I will begin a sermon series on Jonah titled “Reckless Love.” Our choir will be back for the 9:00 am service. […]
A Special Thank You from Pastor Mark
My dear Chapel Hill family: This week, Cyndi and I received pictures from our daughter Rachel in her new robe (a gift from the Session) with her Chapel Hill St. Andrews stole around her neck, standing among the faculty members for Commencement at Montreat College. So…she’s off and running! I just want to thank all of […]
A Big Family Moment
I’ll start with a confession. I know I cannot possibly be dispassionate about what I’m going to write. How could I? This is about my little girl, my daughter, Rachel. So, if I enthuse a little too much, please forgive me. But you also might enthuse a bit because she’s your daughter, too! The “First Daughter […]
Pastor Mark back in the pulpit this weekend
Every one of us can recount a vacation that didn’t QUITE turn out as they had planned. This was certainly one of those for the Toones! While leading a great group of folks on a Reformation Tour in Germany and Switzerland, I ended up in an Emergency Room in Zurich. They took care of things […]
Do-nut miss this weekend!
For all of us donut lovers (and who isn’t?) we were grieved this week to learn that one of our favorite dispensers of fat-fried dough, Pao’s donuts, had been burgled and vandalized! The horror! It is ironic because we had JUST been discussing tapping into them for our not-to-be-missed Father’s Day treat this weekend. More […]