(BLOG written on May 5– sorry it wasn’t posted!)

Over the last few months I have noticed how popular different applications have become for “Facebook” users.  First, if you don’t have a Facebook account (or “FB” for short), don’t worry. You’ll survive! Your life has not been cut short or lacks meaning—I promise!  In fact, enjoy your free time. Nearly every FB user admits to the power Facebook use has to consume that time which used to be free time. However, since this medium is so popular as a way to stay connected to friends and colleagues, I have an account and use it several times during the week.  Something has caught my attention.  I have noticed that even among Christians the use of things that fall into the “idol” category has grown substantially. Read more…

As I led a recent Bible study, I asked people to identify “where” in the Bible story they saw themselves. The story is famous: The Prodigal Son. I wrote a brief reflection in my last blog based on this passage of St. Luke’s gospel in chapter 15 (Luke 15: 11-32).   I’m still reflecting on the story, because it contains the heart of the gospel in it. As we move toward Palm Sunday (in three days), we are invited to enter more deeply into the real-life story of Jesus. After all, he invites us to do so. “I have come that they might have life and have it to the full,” St. John’s Gospel assures us. So, I wonder for you… do you see yourself in the story of the Prodigal Son?  Where do you enter it?

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I have been thinking about “lost and found.” From Luke, chapter 15, three stories powerfully convey the yearning to find what was lost.  Right now I can certainly relate to the woman who had lost her coin and searched her home until she found it. After my ordination last November, I have lost my Celtic cross that I wore with my vestments on Sundays. I have turned things upside down, looked in crevices of each car, each closet, dresser… it’s not found yet. It is special to me because Fr. Gerry Grossman

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Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.

If you were with us on Ash Wednesday, you heard this said to you as Fr. Ed McNeill and I imposed ashes upon your forehead. If you missed it—sorry! You missed a powerful time of worship and encouragement.  The season of Lent begins with a stark reminder of our mortality, and therefore our cause to reflect over the manner and priorities of our lives. This theme is balanced by the theme of God’s triumphant Grace.  This season is a gift. We willingly choose to allow more time and space for the Holy Spirit in our lives. We ask Him to examine our hearts, reveal changes that should be made, express real sorrow over sin and real resolve to move forward in the changes God convinces us to employ.

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Inspiring, Fun, Strategic, Convicting, Hopeful, and Snowed-in for 3 days, wow, lots happened in Greensboro, NC during the last week of January. In many ways I am still gathering my thoughts from the conference. Here are some highlights.

One significant message I came away with came from Archbishop Kolini.  He ended his sermon during the opening worship service and also a tribute session for him hosted by the Mission, with this question, “Will you obey the Lord?” He speaks from personal experience and the personal experiences of many Rwandan and other African priests and bishops. They have been shot at, threatened and some killed in service to Christ and his Church. “Will you obey the Lord?” is no simple question. Instead, will we obey when we lose a building, see a program fail, lose members or gain others? Will we obey in the face of opposition? Will we obey as the Lord guides, for it is His church into which we are called and given roles to play?  This is what ++Emmanual Kolini asks. Will you sacrifice your finances, time, convenience, and priorities—whatever it may be—to obey the Lord?

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Dear Friends,

At last Christmas is here! How remarkable it is that God “comes to us.” For love, Jesus was born so all the world could know God and be free from the way the bonds of sin alter our identity and purpose in life. Instead, God has love, grace, and purpose for us to experience as we follow the Lord in faith. What a better life we are offered!

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Dear Friends,

The season of Advent, the four-week period prior to Christmas, causes Christians to reflect over the coming of Jesus to the world. In readings and prayers, we are reminded not only of the Incarnation, but of Jesus coming again in the future. I wonder what it means for you to prepare your heart to receive Jesus afresh in faith?

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As Thanksgiving approaches, I am reminded to pause to consider all that I have to be thankful for in my life. I’m not going to list any of them in this blog! I’m going to save that for next time. Instead, in one of the shortest blog entries you’ll ever read, I want to encourage you to do the same.  Each day, think of at least two things for which are you are thankful-and then pay attention to how your perspective begins to be influenced by this simple discipline.

We will host our annual Thanksgiving service this year, and we’re inviting St. James to join us at Orchard. During our service, extended time will be given for you to share your testimonies and remembrances of Thanksgiving to God. I look forward to this service!

Foundations make sure structures stand up well, if the foundation and what was built upon it were built well. My home has a concrete slab foundation under two rooms, and the rest of the house sits on post and pier units. During the 6.9 magnitude Loma Prieta quake 20 years ago, there was no damage to the home, so it was built well enough (Yes, we have been in the house that long!)

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Last week I went to San Diego to meet with other church leaders from the Lord of the Nations Network. We had a good time together and found ourselves well reminded of the value of “Sabbath-keeping.” The Anglican Mission’s prayer leader, Elizabeth Walters led our Friday session on that topic. We must have taken her encouragement to heart, because most of us napped on Friday afternoon! It has been months since I have taken a nap. What about you?

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