How have you searched? How have you suffered? How have you served? The assignment was to write a worldview paper answering these questions; it was part of my senior seminar course at Hope College several years ago. Writing and sharing our worldview papers was one of my favorite college memories, not only for my own process of self-reflection, but… Read More »

“We shall not cease from exploration. And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started, and know the place for the first time.”   –T. S. Eliot I’m a nature documentary geek. I could spend hours immersed in any program put on by David Attenborough or Ken Burns. My partner, Jane, teases me that… Read More »

We will not go back to normal. Normal never was. Our pre-corona existence was not normal other than we normalized greed, inequity, exhaustion, depletion, extraction, disconnection, rage, hoarding, hate and lack. We should not long to return, my friends. We are being given the opportunity to stitch a new garment.  One that fits all of… Read More »

For the month of May 2021, we entered an experiment here at Central. We “flip-flopped” the worship schedule of our two main services, so that for those five weeks, Traditional Worship occurred at 9 am, and The Well Worship occurred at 11 am. Along the way we asked you to respond, via a survey, to… Read More »

Families and Friends of Central Church, This is the last blog I’ll write as your senior pastor. And while I’m not much of a blogger, I have enjoyed the regular opportunity to celebrate our church and its mission in this space. As I reflect on the 14 years I’ve served as your pastor, I realize… Read More »

Back when I attended Grace Episcopal, I listened with envy—and not holy envy—just plain human envy about the offerings of Central Church. Without stepping foot in the building, I knew that Central trained Stephen Ministers; served outreach breakfasts from a state-of-the-art commercial kitchen, featured talented musicians, and had money to spare. The modest church I… Read More »

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1 Dear Central Church Family, Blessed New Year Friends!  I must say, the dawn of a new year feels good. Thanks to a nearly yearlong battle with our foe, the coronavirus, I’ve been anxious to put a wearisome 2020… Read More »

I turned 60 years old last Saturday. I wasn’t real excited about this milestone, but many of you assured me it will be all right. One of you said, “sixty is the new forty” and others, “the sixties are good years, live into them.” One 88-year-old told me, “you’re just a kid”. That was my… Read More »

I am troubled by today’s headlines, as you too may be. At our nation’s southern border, a caravan of persons from Central American countries are confronted by riot police and tear gas, in an effort to turn them away from attempting to enter our country. They wait in makeshift shelters in Tijuana, Mexico for word… Read More »

Dear Friends, I hear this sentiment a lot lately in regards to the wave of hatred spurred violence that unsurprisingly hits communities around the United States. The recent mass murder at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh is the latest of these disturbing events. Talking with friends I hear the weariness and the worry… Read More »