God has broken into history. This is what Christmas is all about. And this inbreaking is a cause for joy. Churches and towns all across the country will be retelling this story in creative ways over the next few weeks. Our church will be doing the same here in South Royalton. Join us for our …
A few weeks ago was the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. Our church watched a brief video about Brother Andrew, the founder of Open Doors, and author of God’s Smuggler. For Americans, this is usually a day when we think about things happening somewhere else. While persecution is more and more a …
In Psalm 63 David declares: “Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.” He goes on: “My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips…” Take a guess where David was at that moment? You might think, he’s in …
With Christ in the Wilderness: A Lenten Reflection Read More »
The feast of the Epiphany is celebrated on January 6, and marks the end of the celebration of Christmas. The night preceding Epiphany has been called the Twelfth Night, an acknowledgement that the twelve days of the Christmas celebration are at last complete. The word “epiphany” means a manifestation or an unveiling of something that …
Among Holy Week celebrations and observances, Saturday of Holy Week is often overlooked or forgotten. There are no “special” events planned on Saturday—we move from the spectacle of Jesus crucifixion on Friday, right into the jubilee of Easter morning. For many of us Saturday is a day of hunting for eggs with the children or …
Since becoming a Christian in college I have not attended a church that observed Lent (to my recollection), at least not while they were observing it. I have been active primarily in non-mainline Presbyterian, Baptist, or Independent circles and I gather that these traditions generally do not practice Lent and its attendant days and rituals. …
Maybe the greatest challenge of the Advent and Christmas season is to keep its true meaning in front of us. What is Advent really about? Why the trees and the presents and the caroling and the parties? Why all the hullabaloo? The word advent means “coming.” What’s coming? Who’s coming? Well, when you come to …
The book of Ecclesiastes gives us a clue for understanding the Church’s liturgical year, “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.[i]” This verse reminds us that God created order and seasons with limits at the very heart of His creation, and that each of these seasons or times …
