August 2, 2026

It’s always easier to yearn for a time other than the one you find yourself in.

I grew up in the era of playing outside until the streetlights came on.  It was almost magic how the day faded away unnoticed, with gathered gratitude better seen with the sun no longer there.   But it wasn’t night.  Not yet anyway, as dusk’s lingering light allowed for as much joy as we could squeeze out of little moments.  Then before we were called inside, if we were paying attention, light would return as the unnoticed fireflies used their lights to find each other.

July 26, 2026

I’m grateful for Rev. Tim Graham who led our first three shared summer services, and how last week’s message so beautifully dovetails into where I’d like to start this week.  Tim spoke about The Last Lecture, based on the work of Randy Pausch, who while reflecting on his own mortality pondered what it means for us to live a meaningful life.  It’s not unique to Tim’s retirement, but all of us face our ever diminishing resource of time. 

June 21, 2026

Happy Father’s Day to many of you gathered here or online who are fathers, grandfathers, great-grandfather’s, stepdads or mentors of young people who turn to you like a father.

For many this day is one to celebrate, for some it is a painful reminder perhaps of fathers who were not loving and supportive, or in some cases abusive. For some it is a reminder of father’s who are no longer with us. It is a day that can bring mixed emotions so before I begin I just wanted to acknowledge that.

June 14, 2026

I was talking with Dennis Dechart last week and he was telling me stories about how hard it was to get rid of a weed call sow thistle that has appeared in the community garden behind the church and then later that same week Chris Robinson and some folk from the property committee we’re struggling to get the Buckthorn trees out of the backyard here. Man there seems to be a goodly number of plants out there that disrupt what we want to see in our gardens and lawns. And getting rid of them is easier said than done!

June 7,2026

The Genesis reading is beautiful poetry about the relationship between God and all things that are in creation. Yet this beautiful poetry has been abused and used in the many attacks that Christians have made against the 2S LGBTQ A+ community. Christians have pointed out, see right there in the scriptures, God made them, male and female, for the explicit reason to reproduce. There’s no doubt about it that plants and animals need to be reproduce for a species to survive, but that doesn’t mean that every single plant or animal needs to be reproduce. A rose is just as beautiful regardless of whether it’s seeds ever find their way to the ground. ………….

May 31, 2026

Trinity Sunday comes early in the season of Pentecost for a very specific reason. After all Pentecost is a celebration of the work of the Holy Spirit. To help us understand the trinity I need to ask how many people here have heard of Unitarians? Well, it may surprise you, it certainly surprised me, to find out that Unitarians were part of the early Christian church. It was only during the time of the first councils that were debating what would be the official Christian theology that a split emerged. The Unitarians argued for God in the singular as an undivided entity. Universally identifying this God as God, the Father or Creator alone.