Tidings

This was not how anyone planned it. I’m not the first, nor will I be the last person to have things go in an unanticipated and unwanted direction. It was a little over four months ago when I learned that I had stage four bile duct cancer, plans changed. I gain no comfort from the lyrics made famous by my revolving relatives from across the pond, “you can’t always get what you want…you get what you need.” Hopes and visions for…

The Stones rolled into Adrian over a month ago and are mostly unpacked. We are enjoying the parsonage (henceforth to be referred to as “the parsnip”) meeting neighbors, renewing relationships, and making new friends. We have had two new trees planted; a Merlot Redbud in the front yard and a Tulip tree in the back yard. We also planted two boomerang lilacs and a diablo shrub. We plan to plant some hostas and ferns in the shady hillside on the…

Today is my first day as your pastor. I had a long list of things I hoped to accomplish and crossed off more than half of them. I want to share a little bit about what you can expect in worship the next few weeks. I’m beginning a six-week series called “Beguiled by Beauty: Cultivating a life of contemplation and compassion.” It’s actually a title of a new book by Dr. Wendy Farley that has been delayed in publishing because…

When I was in jr. high and high school, every youth group gathering closed with what I was told was “The MYF Blessing.” As it turns out, it’s a blessing found in Numbers 6:24-26. Here’s how we said it: “May the Lord bless you and keep you; may the Lord make his face shine upon you, and be gracious unto you; may the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-26 You can imagine that…

There’s been a lot of soul searching going in in our home over the past week. The recent civil unrest over the murder of George Floyd at the hands of white police officers has struck a deep nerve with one member of our household. The main question being asked is, “Should I speak up and publicly share my thoughts?” The question behind the question is In the face of injustice, is it wrong to not publicly say something? Put another…

When I was in seminary, a professor whom I highly respected shared with me his opinion that Jesus didn’t have to die. An intelligent man, he had a superb grasp of the English language and the ability to clearly express his theological beliefs, so there was no misunderstanding him. He believed Jesus’ death was the unfortunate result of political and religious conflict. As he saw it, it was a death that could have been avoided had Jesus or the other…

“. . . he has said, ‘I will never leave you or abandon you.’”  — Hebrews 13:5 (CEB) This morning, while enjoying our morning coffee together, Caroline made the observation that she’s currently experiencing grief on account of matters related to her work. Being familiar with her work situation, it made perfect sense to me. This got me thinking about my own work situation. And as I sat there listening to her, it occurred to me that I’m in a…

Here’s something that took me by surprise this week. This coming Sunday, May 3, will only be six weeks from my final Sunday, which is June 14! To say that this realization “took me by surprise” speaks to the fact that my focus really has been on the realities of the here-and-now. In all honesty, my move to Port Huron has occupied very little of my conscious awareness these past seven weeks. But then it hit me this week that…

If I had to make a guess, I’d say that most of the good folks in our church are not aware of the non-binding straw poll that was take at annual conference last week. Following the 2019 General Conference, the leadership team of the Michigan Annual Conference (MAC) wanted to get a better sense about where the people in our conference stand in regard to the matter of whether or not to allow clergy to perform same-sex weddings and ordain…

Dear Friends at Adrian First United Methodist Church, Last week, The United Methodist Church prayerfully and intentionally entered into a process of holy conferencing with the hope of discovering an amicable way forward in regard our denominational stance on human sexuality, specifically pertaining to marriage and ordination. On Tuesday, the special called session of General Conference came to an end, and with it, a decision. Bishop David Bard states it well in his letter to the members of the Michigan…