Words of Welcome

Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, UK  Psalm 84 I have been going to church all my life. I was baptized as an infant at St. Luke’s of the Mountains Episcopal Church in LaCrescenta, California. I was an acolyte at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church of Dunsmuir. I was confirmed at age twelve at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Klamath Falls, where I was an acolyte, lay reader, and choir member. I was baptized once more in a creek in Oregon at age seventeen, after I moved to the Foursquare Church. I was then ordained at age twenty-seven at Temple City Christian Church. That should qualify as dwelling in the house of the Lord all my life, “for a day in [God’s] courts is better than a thousand elsewhere.”   What is true of me might be true of you as well. Your story might be different in its details, but you have been dwelling in the House of the Lord your entire life. In fact, I know that at least a couple of our members were on the cradle roll of Central Woodward when we were in

Psalm 34:1-8 Taste and see that the Lord is good! Taste and sight are two of the senses that help make life what it is. For instance, when we sit down to a meal, we take in the smell, the sight, and then the taste. It might be sweet or savory. Some like the sweetness of cake and others like the savoriness of chips. Some like kale and others don’t. So, when it comes to taste, we’re all different.  If you want to know more about such things, I suggest watching episodes of Good Eats with Alton Brown. He makes a big deal about how our taste buds work. He likes to illustrate his message, since the viewer can’t smell or taste the food he is demonstrating. He might show a chart of the tongue, pointing out the  different sensory areas found on the tongue. There is sweet, salty, savory, sour, and even bitter. Yes, there is a sensor in our tongues that looks for bitterness.

Psalm 51:1-12 There’s a fairly well known biblical story that features King David, Bathsheba, Uriah, and Nathan the Prophet. The story, which is found in 2 Samuel, begins with David spying on the wife of Uriah, one of his military officers, who is away at the front. When David sees her bathing, he grows covetous. He likes what he sees, and as King he believes he can have whatever he pleases. So he sends for Bathsheba, sexually assaults her, and sends her home. He believes he can do this without consequence because he has no equals, or so he believes. Before too long word comes to David that Bathsheba is pregnant. Since Uriah is away at the front, David knows that questions will be raised as to the father. He’s afraid that fingers will point his way. So, he calls Uriah home, hoping Uriah will share his wife’s bed. Then, when the child is born, no one will be the wiser. Unfortunately for David, Uriah is an honorable man, who refuses to take advantage of the comforts of home when