I wonder if anyone else has been challenged by this “One Anothers” sermon series like I have? I know you have, because each week we get feedback from people sharing how they felt like this message was just for them. I heard someone comment to Pastor Mark that she felt bad that everyone else in […]
You’ve got this!
It was a communion Sunday. People were coming forward to receive the sacrament. I noticed one man in the line who surprised me. Because as far as I knew, he was not a Christian. He’d come to our membership class. He had been reading the Bible. But he was still an explorer. Or so I […]
Keeping Chapel Hill safe
A large part of our most recent Session meeting (the gathering of our Elders) was a conversation about security. I’m sure I don’t need to explain why this issue is near the top (or SHOULD be near the top) of every church leader’s agenda. On the list of “things we never learned in seminary,” I’d […]
How to love kids
Last week, I met with a couple who are planning to join Chapel Hill this fall. As they shared their individual faith journeys, they both pointed to a clear moment in their childhood when they knew they belonged to Jesus. Each of these moments happened at VBS. The Holy Spirit used flannelgraphs and Bible songs […]
Cyndi’s putting
Last Sunday Cyndi and I went to a BBQ that was held to say farewell to John Roberts, one of our dear and faithful volunteers, who is relocating to the land of Micky Mouse and alligators. The host family has a large putting green in their backyard with five holes. Tim, the homeowner, told us […]
How high can you climb?
Continuing the theme of yardwork from my last blog, this Monday was rhody and tree-trimming time. At one point, I was on a step ladder…with an 18-foot extension lopper…taking off branches that intrude over my roof. I mentioned this to a friend, who is about my age, who also still climbs ladders. He told me […]
Leafy and lifeless
It just kept getting lower and lower. We had an apple tree that I could see out our kitchen window. But I noticed its branches seemed to be getting lower and lower. I was surprised that it seemed to be sprouting so many new, leafy branches because, frankly, it is an awful tree. It produced […]
Roe vs. Wade
I confess, I never thought I’d see the day. Nearly 50 years ago, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the right to have an abortion was constitutionally protected. That the unborn had no rights…or few rights. And since that day, 62 million little lives have been taken. 62 million! It is a […]
I wish you could have been there
Twelve of us were gathered last week at Ward EPC Church in a suburb of Detroit, Michigan for our General Assembly, the annual national gathering of our denomination. In the opening worship service, our own Julie Hawkins preached (magnificently), the first EPC woman pastor to preach to the Assembly in person. Ever. Then our own […]
A life worth imitating
Fred Rogers, better known as Mister Rogers from the famed children’s TV show Mister Roger’s Neighborhood, received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Emmys in 1997. In his recipient speech, he used his time in a way no one else had before. “All of us have special ones who have loved us into being,” he […]