Posts by Pastor

February 25, 2024 ~ Second Sunday in Lent BUSY: Reconnecting with an Unhurried God Rev. Beckie Sweet   When I was growing up, our family shared devotions together almost every morning.  Before departing for school or work, we would gather in the living room and share a scripture passage, devotional reading, and prayer time together.  While we gathered consistently, the content of our gathering would change from season to season,...

February 18, 2024 ~ First Sunday in Lent BUSY: Reconnecting with an Unhurried God Rev. Beckie Sweet   When I was a preschooler, I was so skinny (yes, I said skinny), that my mother was worried that I would be diagnosed with “failure to thrive.”  So, I was sent to my grandmother’s house to be “fattened up!”  Didn’t Gramma do a good job!?!  By the time I started school, I was taller, and larger than most of my classmates.  In...

February 14, 2024 ~ Ash Wednesday Rev. Beckie Sweet   I had the privilege this week of listening to a TED talk presented by Carl Honore, who has recently published a book entitled, In Praise of Slowness.  He spoke a little bit about his experience in writing and promoting this book.  He said that the irony of publishing a book on slowness is that you need to do it really fast.  Everyone wants to learn about slowness, but they...

February 11, 2024 ~ Transfiguration Sunday Rev. Beckie Sweet   In 1986, I had the opportunity to engage in a year-long pastoral exchange.  I had spent most of my life in rural upstate New York.  I was going to spend a year in the heart of Silicon Valley, San Jose, CA.  THAT was quite a culture shock.  At the time, approximately one million people lived in the San Jose area, and in my estimation, about 50% of them were on the road...

February 4, 2024 ~ Reconciling Sunday Rev. Beckie Sweet   “Jesus loves me! . . .   Jesus loves me!  This I know . . . Jesus loves me!  This I know, for the Bible tells me so . . .”              Swiss theologian Karl Barth was one of the premier religious thinkers of the 20th Century.  In addition to being a prolific writer, he would travel all around the world, including the United States, lecturing in colleges and seminaries...