Dear friends, “What we do matters.” This is the theme our Stewardship Team selected for this fall. Mark Whiteman, Clair Ball, Fran Bogle and I sat in the church office reflecting on what this church means to us. This statement emerged – a statement with so many layers of meaning. The world around us […]
Staff
Feel All the Feelings
Dear friends, I am so excited to spend these next few months with all of you at Edwards Church. I have been connected with Edwards for several years through my internship with Open Spirit, as a fill-in Church Admin last summer, and as an active member of Open Spirit. My calling into ministry was fed […]
Teaching for These Times
Dear friends, I am writing just a few days after our Sacred Service of Farewell for Rev. Dr. Karen Nell Smith. It was a service filled with beautiful music, inspiring stories, lots of quilts, laughter, applause, barking, and some tears. Most of all, it was a service filled with love, a reflection of the love […]
How Lucky I Am…
“And now I know that none of you, among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom, will ever see my face again.” Acts of the Apostles 20:25 Beloved, I’ve been so touched by your kind words and gestures since I announced my retirement several months ago. I’m profoundly grateful to each and every […]
Teaching for These Times
Dear friends, Last month, I participated in Open Spirit’s program “Learning to Listen,” led by Laura Beck and Karen Nell Smith. It was thought-provoking and challenging. What does it mean to listen deeply to people with whom we disagree? How do we stand up for justice and compassion when someone speaks words that offend and […]
Superheroes
But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. – 2 Corinthians 4:7 Dear friends, This summer our Christian Explorers are going to spend some time with two superheroes from the Bible – Miriam and Lydia. […]
Our Children Are The Future
Dear friends, Dr. Lisa Miller, a research psychologist who studies the impact of spirituality on children and youth, was on the subway in New York City. She noticed that most of the commuters had crowded into a couple of cars. They seemed to be avoiding a distressed, disheveled man sitting in an almost-empty car, eating […]
How lucky I am…
Dear friends, This ancient priestly blessing from the Hebrew Bible is so familiar, so often used as a benediction to our worship services and a way of going forth after a meaningful time of praise and prayer together on a Sunday morning. It captures our greatest hopes for one another as we come to a […]
Celebrating Open and Affirming
Dear friends, Next year, we will celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Edwards Church becoming an Open and Affirming Congregation. For those in our congregation who came from Grace Church, it has been even longer! Open and Affirming has been transformative for our congregation. Our vote in February 2000 gave voice to a value we have […]
Celebrating Pentecost
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. […]