I begin by admitting this E-pistle is derivative. It’s a reworking or reapplication of David Brooks’ recent column “Weavers,” which sort of surprises me. I mostly avoid reading Brooks as I find him usually muddled, and often infuriating. Actually, I often read him only when I want to...
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Last Sunday afternoon, I got a message from one of our members who had been in church: “…Unsure if it came out of the lectionary or if you picked it yourself, but I really appreciated the reading from Corinthians today. ‘But by the grace of God, I am what I am, and his...
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“If we can’t as a congregation bear disagreement and tension — handle some discomfort — we’ll never do anything. Ok, maybe that’s an exaggeration. But if we cannot risk ruffling any feathers or upsetting any apple carts, our range is going to be awfully restricted...
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I really appreciated last Sunday’s conversation about the future of our homeless ministries. Thanks to Megan and the others who planned it, and everyone who participated in it. It was a good start to an important discussion towards our discernment as a congregation. What does God want...
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We have an important conversation before us this Sunday after the budget and the elections at the Annual Meeting. It’s not to be a whole conversation we’re going to have, but the beginning, a good start, as we dive into a complicated relational situation about which people may have a...
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(Pastor’s Note: Writing my report for the Congregational Annual Meeting, I decided to run it as this week’s E-pistle as well. Maybe that will get more people to read it! Or get more people aware of and interested in the upcoming Congregational Annual Meeting on January 27, after...
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I was at the POWER (Philadelphians Organized to Witness, Empower and Rebuild) Leaders’ Assembly on Tuesday. It is the first time that I had been to one in a very long time. Not intentionally, actually. It just sort of happened. And before I explain why, let me say how good it was to...
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It turns out that Spencer’s daughter, Mary Beth (who I have been working with to plan his funeral service) was at Old First before Spencer arrived with Holly! Not in church, but with the playgroup that Kristen M. and Harvey got going while Mindy was our Administrator. I knew Mary Beth...
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Some conservative Christians are mad about our Refugee Nativity. They might be about to get madder. After the T.V. and radio stories, they called the church. They have complained on our Facebook page and in the comments under the news reports. Their concerns have not always been the...
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I posted this incident on the church’s Facebook, but it probably deserves more consideration: “Last week, as Michael was out in the cold hanging the Christmas messages, a passerby, noticing what the pastor was doing, commented, “It’s nice to see a congregation with a message for the...
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