Category: Uncategorized
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Ode to Tracy
Her name is Tracy. After 56 trips around the sun, cancer released her soul from her body. At her funeral on Saturday, her husband Jimmy quoted Tracy’s favorite saint, St. Therese of Lisieux, “I’m not dying, I’m entering life.” Tracy not only believed this as a matter of faith, but she also lived her life
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Foot Washing after Easter
At our staff meeting last week, Rev. Dr. David Abbott gave a short and deep reflection on St. John’s account of Jesus washing feet and asked us to reflect on how we experience foot washing in our lives. For me, in the new light of the resurrection, the act of washing feet takes on even
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Turning the Tables
I was reading a Holy Week Gospel passage where we see an angry Jesus turning over the money changers’ tables and driving out those who sold doves for a temple sacrifice. “Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!” John 2:16. Jesus is always turning the tables on us, usually
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What is Jesus Doing During Lent?
Fill-in the blank: For Lent this year I’m going to _________. Usually, we give up or add something i.e: give up chocolate and instead bring sandwiches to the homeless. In the past I’ve participated in the decreasing and increasing activities of Lent. Sometimes it was a checklist activity. I remember putting a quarter in a
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Feeding the Birds
For the last several years I have enjoyed feeding the birds. We see many yellow finches in the summer and all sorts of feathered friends in the winter. The red cardinals against the white snow is a daily picture. The chickadees and swallows are our most frequent guests. The pesky blue jays are party crashers,
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What Gift Will You Offer?
Her name is Erika and she and her mom are active in the Gray Memorial Church in Caribou, Maine. Erika loves to color. She is an artist. I first became aware of her when talking with pastor Rev. Tim Wilcox regarding the ministry area of stewardship. We were discussing people sharing their gifts, whatever it
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Justice in Our Time
On November 3rd, 1983 President Ronald Reagan signed a bill making the third Monday in January, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a national holiday. Government moves slow, and the day was not observed as a national holiday until 1986, but by then 17 states were already observing the holiday. Some states changed the name of
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Being the Epiphany
Epiphany is the manifestation of Christ, clearly showing the divinity of God. People who saw Jesus were drawn to him. His teaching and healing in themselves are epiphanies – they embody the Word made flesh. So often we spend time analyzing why church attendance is down, especially with younger people. Imagine if we could go
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Of Longing and Waiting
It wasn’t that long ago that fathers were relegated to the “waiting room” while their wives gave birth to a baby. They waited with expectation of the news of a new daughter or son. Waiting usually means remaining in one place. Most often this is a physical activity. There are times though when this waiting
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Finding Myself
It is common for young people to go through a period of exploration, even rebellion. We say they must “find themselves.” My Mom used to call this period of life “crossing over jackass bridge.” You might not be surprised that I spent some time on that bridge, stopping to fish once or twice. Fortunately, most