November 28, 2022 Antoinette Richardson
Advent is a time of waiting, anticipating the coming of Jesus Christ in a physical body just like ours. Christians everywhere and throughout time have used Advent to reflect, to deepen their experience of God coming to us in the flesh.
For Advent this year, the members of the Ministry of Adult Spiritual Growth have decided to try something different. In the past, we have offered special Sunday morning Advent classes as a way for people could enhance their spiritual growth. However, many people find attending Sunday morning classes difficult or not appealing. We know that such classes reach only a small portion of our worshiping community.
At our most recent meeting, we considered ways to reach out to the entire church community during Advent. We decided to have an Advent Email each week on Monday morning, with a reflection about the theme of the week and its application to everyday life. We know that our fellow church member, Jean Reinhold, has written wonderfully poetic Advent reflections. So we asked, and Jean has generously agreed that we can use her writings for our Advent emails this year.
Each week during Advent, you will receive an emailed reflection by Jean on the theme of the week from the Ministry of Adult Spiritual Growth. You will find the first Advent email, on the theme of Hope, on the next page. We hope that you will read and re-read this reflection throughout the week as a way of deepening your experience of this time of waiting.
from Ann Williams and the entire Ministry of Adult Spiritual Growth
Tags: Adult Ed, advent, faith, growth, trust, WorshipAugust 19, 2018 Peg Weissbrod
I’ve been back for two weeks but still the crash of the waves seems near. There is something about the rhythm of a beach that re-arranges my heart, mind and soul. I lose all track of time. Elizabeth Gilbert wrote the popular novel Eat, Pray, Love. When away, I eat, love, pray, run, read, swim, read some more, eat ice cream, help with the puzzle, eat even more – rinse and repeat! Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Ann Weems, ask, Eat Pray Love, Elizabeth Gilbert, Frederick Douglass, gratitude, Lord's Prayer, Luke 11: 1-13, making space, Martin Luther, mystery, patience, prayer, realignment, Soren Kierkegaard, trust, truth, vacationMay 6, 2018 Peg Weissbrod
Several times, when Deanne and I lived in Scotland, we were invited to “Bide a wee.” Stay a little longer – have a wee dram before returning to the city. It was an expression of warm friendship and hospitality. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: beloved, Bide a wee, communion, community, friends, friendship, John 15: 7-17, prayer, trustMarch 11, 2018 Peg Weissbrod
Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God – what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Paul writes that you and I have to change our minds, our way of thinking if we are ever going to align ourselves more fully with what God wants for us, and our world. And change is hard but as I read the other day Cinderella is proof that a new pair of shoes can change your life! Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: advice, Alex Jones, discerning, exercise, Infowars, Paul, PRISM, renew, Romans 8, ruts, St. Ignatius, stuck, surrender, Thomas Chalmers, trustOctober 29, 2017 Peg Weissbrod
Welcome to Reformation Sunday. Yes, about every 500 years or so, the church gets all shook up and resettled and so here we are: 500 years ago, Martin Luther, a Roman Catholic priest, put up his “Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences” (better known as his 95 theses) on the door of the Wittenberg Castle Church door and transformed the world. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: abundance, Amazing Grace, becoming the Beloved Community, covenant, history, hope, James Weldon Johnson, Jeremiah 31, Martin Luther, past present and future, Reformation, Romans 3, trustMarch 26, 2017 Peg Weissbrod
This is one of my favorite passages in all of scripture. Before reality TV and “The Bachelor” (or Bachelorette), God hands the rose to David! Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: 1 Samuel 16, anointing, David, grief, hope, love, moving on, outward appearances, Saul, The Bachelorette, the chosen one, trustMarch 12, 2017 Peg Weissbrod
January 8, 2017 Peg Weissbrod
I saw the new Star Wars movie “Rogue One” over the holidays. If you are into those kind of movies, I recommend it. It’s the mythic battle of good vs. evil Just when the powers of the “dark side” seem certain to win, a person arises whose power and light confounds the darkness. In this movie it is Jin a young woman. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: arise, darkness, epiphany, Good vs evil, Herod, Isaiah 60, light, magi, Mary Oliver, Matthew 2, power, risk, Rogue One, shine, tension, trust, wise menJuly 10, 2016 Peg Weissbrod
Today’s sermon is a story of God’s faithfulness to us across space and time through the words of scripture. To be honest with you, I thought a lot about throwing this sermon in the trash. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Deuteronomy 30:6-10; bible, equipped, history, justice, love, suffering, trustMay 8, 2016 Peg Weissbrod
Today’s a great text. The disciples are headed back to Jerusalem. And when you think about it, when you get into this scene, the disciples have to be shaking their heads in disbelief about what just happened: Jesus who had died, who had come back to life, who had been with them for a time, is now gone…and this time, for good. He’s been “beamed up to the Mothership,” so to speak. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Acts 1, anxiety, children, community, fear, isolation, letting go, prayer, separation, trust, waiting
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