I just read a post about the upcoming General Assembly of the PCUSA. “Shall the Fundamentalists Win“. Chris Currie, a fellow PCUSA pastor I haven’t yet met, although I hope to soon, revisits the Fundamentalist/Modernist Controversy of almost 100 years ago. His conclusion seems to be that those of us seeking marriage equality in the…
This is another post about the upcoming General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church USA. There is an overture headed to General Assembly’s Civil Unions and Marriage Committee that would seek to pull clergy out of civil marriage altogether. I am sympathetic to Lehigh Presbytery’s intention. I stopped signing state marriage licenses a few years ago.…
A sermon preached at Southminster Presbyterian Church in Boise, Idaho on Ascension Sunday, June 1, 2014. Acts 1:1-11 This past Thursday the church calendar celebrated the Ascension, which is the 40th day after Easter, when the church commemorates the Ascension of Christ into Heaven. We live in a world where people do not get carted…
(Warning–this is a post for people who are interested in the upcoming General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA). Be advised, there will be insider language and lingo.) The 221st General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) meets in a few weeks in Detroit. I will be there as support staff for one of the…
A sermon preached at Southminster Presbyterian Church in Boise, Idaho. May 18, 2014 Acts 4:5-21 John 21:15-17 The day before our story begins, as we heard last week, Peter and John were walking into the Temple in Jerusalem and a lame beggar, who had sat at the gate every day for years, asked them for…
I’m far from home tonight. Sitting on my hotel balcony, overlooking the Ohio River in downtown Louisville, Kentucky. I’m far from home when startling news has been announced. In a 57 page decision, US Magistrate Judge Candy Dale determined Idaho’s Constitutional ban against same gender marriage is unconstitutional. “… Idaho’s Marriage Laws withhold from them…
In Presbyterian Church tradition, regional groups of churches are called presbyteries. And when presbyteries meet, we worship together, as representatives of the various congregations. We do work and we enjoy fellowship with people we love but don’t always get to see. Even though our presbytery meetings are on Saturdays, when I am often also expected…
I’m very open about sharing my politics, and my opinions in general. (I know. Not much of a newsflash.) I don’t expect others to agree with my views. It seems the world needs all of our different perspectives. If we could really appreciate the other’s perspective–not so we could figure out how to correct it,…
Five years ago, my first year at Southminster, we celebrated Baptism of Our Lord in worship. In the sermon, I mentioned that by being baptized, we join with Christ in his baptism. And God is, therefore, also speaking to us when God’s voice shreds the heavens apart to yell “This is my beloved child, in…
I shared a link to this article today on Facebook. “What You Believe About Homosexuality Doesn’t Matter” by Tyler Smither, a United Methodist Youth Pastor in Mississippi. It does not matter if you think homosexuality is a sin, or if you think it is simply another expression of human love. It doesn’t matter. Why doesn’t…
Glass Overflowing 