For decades, I have heard—and seen embodied in memes on the internet—a quote attributed to Mark Twain: “Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.” The fact is, however, that Mark Twain—aka Samuel Clemens—never said or wrote those words. Though they may hold some measure of truth about his actually statement, the versions that most …
When I first came to Open Door Churches in 2017 I was assigned to spend my Sunday mornings at Keizer Clear Lake UMC. One of the practices they had in worship was to gather everyone in a circle around the worship space and to hold hands as they sang the last verse of the closing …
June 20, Father’s Day, was the anniversary of my first Sunday in Salem. I volunteered to attend the worship with the Morningside church. The turn-out was more than I expected; about thirty members of the board and their families attended. I got to witness the love and welcoming nature of the people of Morningside church. …
“No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family. In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than once they were. As some of the petitioners in these cases demonstrate, marriage embodies a love that may endure even past death. It would …
This week I am participating in the virtual conference session of the Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference. Normally this yearly meeting is a great chance to gather together with colleagues and friends, catch up with each other, and support and encourage each other in person. Of course in the age of Covid, our work is done via …
Mark 4:35-41: 35 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” 36 And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. 37 A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into …
Today, May 24th, is Aldersgate Day. “Aldersgate Day is celebrated on May 24 (or the Sunday closest) to commemorate the day in 1738 when John Wesley experienced assurance of his salvation. Wesley reluctantly attended a group meeting that evening on Aldersgate Street in London. As he heard a reading from Luther’s Preface to the Epistle …
I want to thank you for reading my blog as I continue to talk about my faith walk with the multicultural community of the United States. After receiving feedback on my last blog, I wanted to clarify my first impression of religions in the United States. Christianity was and still is the majority religion in …
It has been more than 2 months since I started my new position as community organizer for the Open Door Churches. During these 6 months I am exploring the many ways that our Open Door churches reach out in mission to our community, exploring connections with community partners who are engaged with folks in need, …
When I was in seminary school at Boston University my love for podcasts began. Living in a large city and relying on public transportation there are many hours of your day devoted to commuting. At first, I tried reading because there is a lot of reading to be done in seminary but that didn’t work …