As some of you know, I have been away for two Sundays - on vacation with my family. I’m pleased to say that I was able to visit two different churches while I was away. On Sunday, February 22, we visited Christ the King Episcopal Church in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida....
Actually, let me tell you something good. . . This week, Jason Piracini came into the church office with a smile on his face. You might remember that, last fall, Jason was struck with a terrible infection that impacted his heart and nearly took his life. He was very,...
The Gift of Listening This past week, I picked up our 3-year-old from daycare and, once we were buckled in and on the way, he volunteered this unprompted pearl from the backseat: “I like hot dogs!!! We had some for lunch.” It goes to show that you never know what a...
Last fall, with my 50th Birthday approaching, I said to my wife that I really couldn’t think of anything that I needed for my birthday, but. . . there was this one crazy thing. . . So, last Friday, I found myself in a small English village - Trudoxhill - in the...
This past Monday was the national observance of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday. And, over the course of last weekend and this week, there were many remembrances. In Manchester, on Monday afternoon, the annual MLK gathering at Memorial High School was well-attended...
There is this great old Robert Earl Keene song called, “Feelin’ Good Again” that paints the picture of someone who returns to his hometown after some time away. The song begins in kind of a lonely place - the singer is alone, wearing worn out clothes, and standing in...
Last month, a colleague of mine named Jenny McDevitt, who is a pastor down in South Carolina, posted an entry in her church’s Advent Devotional online. She began by saying: I have been asked again recently - and I choose to assume the very best of intentions behind...
Someone asked me, fairly recently, “Are we doing the Star Words this year? Because my family loved them!” “Yes we are!” I replied, excitedly - excited that they were excited. For those of you who might be unfamiliar with the practice of “Star Words," here’s a little...