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 »

“It is amazingly good to see you!” That was the buzz I heard between Central friends coming into the building to worship together a couple weeks ago for in-person worship. You could tell there were big smiles, even behind masks. There was an out-sized joy in the air, even for the few gathered. It struck… Read More »

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.”  Ecclesiastes 3:1 ‘I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and come and go and find pastures.” -Jesus Dear Friends, Well, we’ve certainly seen our share of changes this past year. As a congregation we figured out how… Read More »

Hello sisters & brothers, My hope is that you are caring for yourselves and for one another in these pandemic days. I sit to write these few lines, aware how this year of vigilance has been hard on everyone. Most all of us have someone in our circles of influence who have suffered symptoms of… 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 »

Haven’t we all been waiting for something lately – like some good news on a vaccine, or waiting for election dramas to be put to rest, or waiting for school plans to unfold, or waiting for better news about your friend’s health? I’ve never been very good at waiting, but I’ve come to see this… Read More »

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”  Galatians 6:9 Dear Central Church Family, I think you might agree that the past 8 months have felt like some kind of “time warp.” The COVID pandemic has left us feeling like… Read More »

Friends of Central Church, Contentious elections. Quarantine fatigue. Hurricane and fire and floods. I don’t have to tell you the world and her people are hurting these days, and could use a prayer. So I’ve decided to use my column this month to simply list a few prayers I’m drawn to these days. You might… Read More »

“I was glad when they said unto me, “let us go into the house of the Lord.” Psalm 122:1 Dear Central Church Family, Wow, we’re finally there! On September 13th, unless some new COVID restrictions arise, we’ll resume in-person worship!  While it’s been nearly six months since we last met together for worship at Central,… Read More »

“Watching Over One Another During Covid”   Lately I have been whispering under my breath the “3 Simple Rules” set in play by John Wesley, founder of the Methodist movement a couple centuries ago. Perhaps you know them too since they’ve been resurrected recently by Bishop Reuben Job’s marvelous book “Three Simple Rules”. They tell… Read More »