Luke 10:38-42 I once served a church that had a board of deacons made up entirely of women. It had been like that for a long time. And so the first year I worked with the nominating committee I strongly encouraged them to consider some men who might be called to serve as a deacon. Not too long after that I got a visit to my office from Doreen, the moderator of the Deacons. She was in a fit. She said, “I heard you all nominated Ty for deacon. Just tell me: what am I supposed to do with him? He can’t bake!” I tried to argue that there was really much more to the ministry of the deacons than baking cookies, but Doreen was still doubtful. “Well, besides,” I said, “How do you know he can’t bake?” I had no idea at all if Ty could bake a batch […]
Continue readingMonth: March 2025
Lent 1: Stranger & Neighbor
Luke 10:25-37 A week ago I attended a Presbytery retreat with several other members of this congregation. It was called Fearless Dialogues; with a title like that, we all knew we were about to be nudged into our discomfort zone. And we were. We walked into a room with chairs set up in circles. Unbeknownst to us, we had each selected a sign that would indicate what group we would be sitting with, so when I walked in I sat with a group of others whom I had never met before. This is not the worst thing that could happen. I have been to plenty of events where I know nobody and engage with strangers – I know how to do this. But then we were asked to do something that was a bit different from anything I had ever done before. Pair up with one other person in your […]
Continue reading
