The book of Acts has much to teach us about being a church without walls, and this week’s reading is no exception. The church without walls moves beyond the comfortable, familiar surrounds and into the world. That’s how the apostle Paul ends up in Athens, addressing the philosophers and testifying to the “God who made […]
Reflection from Pastor Amy: On June 17, 2015, the Rev. Clementa C. Pinckney, Cynthia Marie Graham Hurd, Susie Jackson, Ethel Lee Lance, Depayne Middleton-Doctor, Tywanza Sanders, the Rev. Daniel L. Simmons, Sharonda Coleman-Singleton and Myra Thompson were gathered for Bible study at Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, SC. As they studied scripture, […]
Reflection from Pastor Hoffman: For many of us – or at least for me – these days of physical distancing feel like a holding pattern. We know that we can’t return to life as it was before March 15. And we don’t yet know what life will look like when the pandemic is behind us […]
Reflection from Pastor Hoffman: Relationship. It’s all about relationship. This Sunday, we celebrate the festival of the Holy Trinity. It’s a tricky festival, because it’s not a celebration of an event. It’s a celebration of a mystery – the mystery of God-in-three-persons. We worship a God of relationship. God does not exist apart from relationship. […]
Reflection from Pastor Amy “I can’t breathe.” George Floyd’s words spoken in the moments before his death ring in my ears in these days leading up to Pentecost Sunday, the festival when we mark the gift of the Holy Spirit to Christ’s church. In scripture, the Holy Spirit is often experienced as breath, wind, or […]
Reflection from Pastor Hoffman “You will be my witnesses to the ends of the earth!” That’s what Jesus tells his disciples before his ascension – before the resurrected Jesus returns to sit at the right hand of God in heaven – in this Sunday’s reading from Acts (1:6-14). You will be the ones to carry […]
Reflection from Pastor Hoffman “Do not let your hearts be troubled,” Jesus says in Sunday’s gospel. If only. There is much that is indeed troubling our hearts these days. If only it were as simple as not letting it be so. But Jesus surely intends his words to be comforting, even reassuring. “Do not let […]
Reflection from Pastor Amy For the last seven weeks, poetry has been my reading of choice. I hear of people reading the great novels of literature in these days. I don’t have capacity for much more than a few short, concentrated lines. I’m grateful our ancestors in faith saved their poetry, hymns, and prayers for […]
Weekly STAR Reflection 6-28-2020
/in Reflections from Pastor HoffmanThe book of Acts has much to teach us about being a church without walls, and this week’s reading is no exception. The church without walls moves beyond the comfortable, familiar surrounds and into the world. That’s how the apostle Paul ends up in Athens, addressing the philosophers and testifying to the “God who made […]
Weekly STAR Reflection 6-21-2020
/in Pastor Amy, Reflections from Pastor AmyReflection from Pastor Amy: On June 17, 2015, the Rev. Clementa C. Pinckney, Cynthia Marie Graham Hurd, Susie Jackson, Ethel Lee Lance, Depayne Middleton-Doctor, Tywanza Sanders, the Rev. Daniel L. Simmons, Sharonda Coleman-Singleton and Myra Thompson were gathered for Bible study at Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, SC. As they studied scripture, […]
Weekly STAR Reflection 6-14-2020
/in Reflections from Pastor HoffmanReflection from Pastor Hoffman: For many of us – or at least for me – these days of physical distancing feel like a holding pattern. We know that we can’t return to life as it was before March 15. And we don’t yet know what life will look like when the pandemic is behind us […]
Weekly STAR Reflection 6-7-2020
/in Reflections from Pastor HoffmanReflection from Pastor Hoffman: Relationship. It’s all about relationship. This Sunday, we celebrate the festival of the Holy Trinity. It’s a tricky festival, because it’s not a celebration of an event. It’s a celebration of a mystery – the mystery of God-in-three-persons. We worship a God of relationship. God does not exist apart from relationship. […]
Weekly STAR Reflection 5-31-2020
/in Pastor Amy, Reflections from Pastor AmyReflection from Pastor Amy “I can’t breathe.” George Floyd’s words spoken in the moments before his death ring in my ears in these days leading up to Pentecost Sunday, the festival when we mark the gift of the Holy Spirit to Christ’s church. In scripture, the Holy Spirit is often experienced as breath, wind, or […]
Weekly STAR Reflection 5-24-2020
/in Reflections from Pastor HoffmanReflection from Pastor Hoffman “You will be my witnesses to the ends of the earth!” That’s what Jesus tells his disciples before his ascension – before the resurrected Jesus returns to sit at the right hand of God in heaven – in this Sunday’s reading from Acts (1:6-14). You will be the ones to carry […]
Weekly STAR Reflection 5-17-2020
/in Pastor Amy, Reflections from Pastor AmyWeekly STAR Reflection 5-10-2020
/in Reflections from Pastor HoffmanReflection from Pastor Hoffman “Do not let your hearts be troubled,” Jesus says in Sunday’s gospel. If only. There is much that is indeed troubling our hearts these days. If only it were as simple as not letting it be so. But Jesus surely intends his words to be comforting, even reassuring. “Do not let […]
Weekly STAR Reflection 5-3-2020
/in Pastor Amy, Reflections from Pastor AmyReflection from Pastor Amy For the last seven weeks, poetry has been my reading of choice. I hear of people reading the great novels of literature in these days. I don’t have capacity for much more than a few short, concentrated lines. I’m grateful our ancestors in faith saved their poetry, hymns, and prayers for […]