For as long as Methodists have been a faith group in this country, there have been annual meetings, the “Annual Conference” as it’s called, for the purpose every year of inspiring leaders, setting new vision, and deploying clergy to all the churches. I recall taking our daughter to college in Philadelphia years back and, while… Read More »

I was writing this blog in celebration of our youth when our country was once again besieged by violence against our school children. Like many of us, I am shocked at the horror of this one event, by the ways school and other mass shootings repeat across our country, and by how very little we… Read More »

Hey, it’s still the Easter season! In case you haven’t heard me say it to you personally – Halleluiah, Christ is Risen! Read on, as I’m eager to tell you of some new developments on Central’s horizon. First off, you likely have received my news of retirement plans to happen in June of next year.… Read More »

I’m one of those folks who can’t get enough of social media. If you groan, I get it. It’s not a perfect universe. But I’m in the middle of life. I’ve lived in Philadelphia and Grand Rapids, Lansing, Atlanta and Stockholm. My people are in Los Angeles, Belgrade, Seoul, Prague, and rural South Carolina. I… Read More »

As your pastors, we are honored to serve among you, and to lead our church forward, welcoming new people into the embrace of Christ’s body here. Also as your pastors, we have discerned it is time to more fully live out Central’s value of radical hospitality when it comes to marrying couples in our sanctuary.… Read More »

The Pandemic’s long-term effects reach us all. Thankfully, we don’t have to do this alone. Please share in the comments what’s helped you get through this time, or another hard time. Your experience might help someone else. When I was in seminary, I spent a summer working as a hospital chaplain.  I sat with people… Read More »

Happy New Year! Some think of Winter as a time to hibernate, binge on Netflix, and long for Spring. But it is also a time to learn some new things, to let the darkness teach us, and to read some lively words that might deepen our spirit. Did you know that in nature, creatures like… Read More »

We’re all so tired of pandemic, aren’t we? I’ve been sighing over rising cases, masks littering the sidewalks, the anxieties of parents, and the difficulties here at the church of planning for the holidays. Limiting attendance is just not in our church’s DNA!  Pandemic is still a little too close to home.  MEANINGLESS!  MADNESS! But,… Read More »

November brings a chill to the air, and our nation’s obligatory holiday around gratitude. Don’t get me wrong, Thanksgiving is a meaningful holiday for our family, and likely for yours. It shines a light on how Native Americans showed hospitality to the “refugee Americans” when Europeans newly arrived. Times were lean, but bounty was shared.… Read More »

The 2008 crash. I was three years out of grad school, and three years into owning my first home. I was making good money—for a journalist (read: enough, but not really saving a ton). I was paying back a student loan. Propane and gasoline prices soared. I suddenly had to pay a greater portion of… Read More »