Dear People of Bethlehem, Fall is always a season of new adventures, a new school year, a new job or the beginning again of routines that have been relaxed during the summer months. Fall is also a season of thanksgiving. It is a time of harvest of the seeds sown, and our national thanksgiving day …
Dear people of Bethlehem, As I write this, we are in the middle of Vacation Bible School, learning about Joseph and his brothers in Egypt. Children are running all over the campus, full of joy and new songs and a great deal of love. It does the heart good. In the background, our nation continues …
Dear People of Bethlehem, I find myself in a place to give thanks to God for all that has been and all that is yet to be. I remember as a child standing at the very edge of the diving board. My toes curled over the board, my arms poised above my head, too afraid …
Dear friends, As Ash Wednesday approaches, I find myself resting on thoughts of the ashes in our lives. The times in my life, and likely in yours, when all has become ashes despite our best effort. This life never seems to work out perfectly, and yet it is that imperfection that allows for the deepest …
Dear people of Bethlehem, Dear people of light and life and hope in new day. Together with Pastor Sam, I cannot thank you enough for your kind and generous Christmas gift. I was overwhelmed. You warmed my heart and renewed my joy, as you regularly do. Your support and care mean so much to me. …
Dear people of Bethlehem, In this Advent season, I am always so grateful to name us all, “the people of Bethlehem”. Indeed we are in name, but also in disposition. We are indeed a people who seek after the light. People who live, the day to day of our lives, as those in the town of Bethlehem must …
Dear people of Bethlehem, Two weeks ago, I arrived at church early on Sunday morning, but I was not alone. Emma (9 yrs. old) and Jonah (6 yrs. old) were there too. They came dragging a wagon full of brilliant pink flowers and contagious enthusiasm. Emma pulled the heavy wagon all by herself, while Jonah …
Dear people of Bethlehem, It is August. A time when we wish the pandemic was over, but it is not. A time when the nations of the world gather for the Olympics and we see a vision of a world united, if only for a moment. It is a time when most of us are traveling to see …
Dear people of Bethlehem, In this season of the church, we have moved from Ascension Sunday, to Pentecost, to Trinity Sunday. The Holy Spirit has central place in all three. Ascension Sunday: “You will be visited by the Holy Spirit, not many days from now.” Pentecost: the rush of a mighty wind and the gift …
Dear Easter People, I have always admired Mary Magdalene’s decisions on Easter Sunday morning. A woman of tenacity and strength, she had known suffering in her life. Yet she also knew the possibility of hope. On that first Easter morning, she was up before first light. She travelled to the tomb not in joy, but …