Words of Welcome

Acts 1:3-14 I have a confession to make. I’m tired of waiting for this pandemic to end and I know I’m not alone. It’s Memorial Day Weekend and it’s finally getting warm outside. We’ve been cooped for more than two months and we want to spread our wings. Along the way, we’ve watched as Baseball’s opening day has come and gone without any games being played, while a lot of other events we might have enjoyed have been canceled. Some of us have travel plans that are on hold because we don’t know what tomorrow will bring. The Governor is loosening some of the restrictions, but the stay at home order has been extended because we’re not out of the woods yet.  While waiting can be difficult—just ask any child at Christmas time—sometimes good things come to those who wait. This includes waiting for the Spirit of God to come upon us with power so we can be Christ’s witnesses in the world. Today we celebrate Jesus’ ascension, which according to the Book of Acts occurred for...

Deuteronomy 34:1-9 At the end of my junior year our swing choir, of which I was a member, was singing at the senior assembly. The song we sang was The Way We Were, which goes like this: Mem'ries, Light the corners of my mind Misty water-colored memories of the way we were Scattered pictures, of the smiles we left behind Smiles we gave to one another, for the way we were Can it be that it was all so simple then? Or has time re-written every line? If we had the chance to do it all again Tell me, would we? Could we? It seemed like everyone in the choir got a bit teary-eyed as we sang. Our emotions were a bit divided, of course. The seniors amongst us looked forward with excitement to the new opportunities that graduation would bring, and yet they also knew that their journey might mean never seeing good friends again. And, as for us juniors, while we looked forward to finally being seniors, we weren’t quite ready to let go of our senior friends. And so for a moment, at least, sadness...

John 17:20-26 The bookstores are full of best-sellers warning us that religion is dangerous. Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens have written books that have caught the fancy of people who believe that religion, including Christianity, is at best irrational, and at worst “really does poison everything.” Religious fanatics who fly planes into tall buildings, blow up clinics, protest at funerals, or offer bombastic statements about any number of issues, only give support to these claims. And as for you and me, well, apparently we give cover to the fanatics simply by professing faith in God. I could try to ignore the critics, but some of their critiques are helpful, because they point out our tendency toward self-righteousness and feelings of superiority. And so when I saw the announcement that Pluralism Sunday would be observed on Pentecost, I decided to look into it and then I signed us up. Pluralism Sunday is sponsored by The Center for Progressive Christianity, and w...