Tuesday I began a new call as pastor/teaching elder at University Presbyterian Church in Tempe, AZ. In their bulletin they describe themselves as an intentionally “open and affirming community” where “all are welcome.” It is refreshing! But, it is still a congregation in transition, as so many are these days. They have been without an … Continue reading “New Pastoral Call – Days 1 & 2”
Category: community
Image is Everything
Thank you to everyone who helped me shape my business card design. It is so much better than I could have imagined. The “winning” design, by a rather large margin, was Option B: The scores were, out of 5: Option A – 2.56 Option B – 4.29 Option C – 3.83 Option D – 2.61 … Continue reading “Image is Everything”
The Hunger Games
I just finished the final book of The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. I am shaken by this story—it’s honesty about the realities of the human race, the circle of violence that seems to plague every generation, evidence of our fears and insecurities taken out on our neighbors. I don’t know how intentional Ms. … Continue reading “The Hunger Games”
A Church in Decline: Balancing the Need to Teach with the Need to Listen
I just read a blogpost by Carol Howard Merritt entitled “Generational Roadblocks: What sort of obstacles keeps a new generation of people away?” Carol is an amazingly prolific and prophetic writer about contemporary themes of church and young people (she mostly blogs for the Christian Century and Huffington Post). In this latest she outlines a … Continue reading “A Church in Decline: Balancing the Need to Teach with the Need to Listen”
On Leaving a Congregation…
This week is my last week serving as associate pastor at First Presbyterian Church. The past few weeks have been surreal as I have attempted to remain mentally, emotionally, and spiritually present to this congregation, while at the same time reflecting on my time with and being in conversation with the people of University Presbyterian … Continue reading “On Leaving a Congregation…”