Weekly Newsletter

PNews 1/27/22

January 27, 2022 | Posted in Weekly Newsletter

Dangerous Bubbles Jesus’ final words to his disciples, according to Matthew, begin with “Go…” For followers of Jesus, going out into the world is a strategy not only for making the world better – it also makes us better. Can …


PNews 1/20/22

January 20, 2022 | Posted in Weekly Newsletter

The Big Sort One effect of the pandemic on churches is a sharply increased rate of member shift – to online worship, to other churches, or just dropping out. The pandemic has magnified discontentment with their congregations that some members …


PNews 1/13/22

January 13, 2022 | Posted in Weekly Newsletter

More than Enough In God’s economy, there is always more than enough for everyone to have their fill. The only miracle of Jesus recorded in all four Gospels is the feeding of the five thousand, suggesting that it is the …


PNews 1/6/22

January 6, 2022 | Posted in Weekly Newsletter

Blinded by Epiphany Light? Epiphany is about God’s light blazing into our world. We can choose either to live by what it reveals, or to be blinded by it in our eagerness to live instead according to what we would …


PNews 12/16/21

December 16, 2021 | Posted in Weekly Newsletter

The Mercy of Waiting Every year Advent invites us yet again to reflect on waiting. Waiting goes against the grain of human appetites and expectations. Advent focuses on our waiting on Jesus, but might it not also inform how we …


PNews 12/9/21

December 9, 2021 | Posted in Weekly Newsletter

Gathering in Person – Cause for Celebration or Alarm? Giving each other the benefit of the doubt is not only a neighborly thing to do – it marks us as disciples of Jesus, who demands that we do to others …


PNews 12/2/21

December 2, 2021 | Posted in Weekly Newsletter

Getting Out of the Way Advent is not merely passively waiting for the Lord’s coming, but actively doing what we can to “prepare him room,” as Isaac Watts so memorably put it in “Joy to the World.” We prepare room …


PNews 11/18/21

November 18, 2021 | Posted in Weekly Newsletter

Table Manners For Christians, participation in the Lord’s Table is an essential feature of an authentic church, something underscored by our Book of Order (F-1.0303). Whether in worship or at mealtime, we need to break bread together. The Lord’s Table …


PNews 11/11/21

November 11, 2021 | Posted in Weekly Newsletter

Waters of Welcome Jesus’ final words to his disciples in Matthew are water words: Go and baptize! We baptize because Jesus told us to. But there’s more. Can Jesus’ diverse interactions with water disclose many other essential things for an …


PNews 11/4/21

November 4, 2021 | Posted in Weekly Newsletter

For All the Saints Christians trust that death is no more the final word in our story than it was in Jesus’ story. This is why, in our Book of Common Worship, the funeral is called a service of “Witness …


PNews 10/28/21

October 28, 2021 | Posted in Weekly Newsletter

Created, Seen, Loved Loving your neighbor as yourself is not an easy task for any of us. There is a lot of division in the world today. But we should hold nothing above the love of God and the love …


PNews 10/21/21

October 21, 2021 | Posted in Weekly Newsletter

Lenses Where we get our news determines and reinforces many of our political and cultural views. Our media lenses shape our values and our choices of conversation partners more than our scriptural lenses. This raises the basic question of which …


PNews 10/14/21

October 14, 2021 | Posted in Weekly Newsletter

Getting a Hearing The necessity of making our proclamation compelling has never been greater during our lifetime than it is today. More than ever, we need to work diligently to assure both that our message is honestly preached and truly …


PNews 10/7/21

October 7, 2021 | Posted in Weekly Newsletter

Keeping it Honest The Notes of the Reformed church were developed in the Reformation partly as litmus tests of a church’s authenticity. The first of the three Notes, as set forth in the Book of Order, is: “The Word of …


PNews 9/30/21

September 30, 2021 | Posted in Weekly Newsletter

Breathing Again The horror of covid is that it robs its victims of their ability to breathe. The pandemic has created a corporate breathing problem for the church as well. As the church looks ahead to life beyond the pandemic, …