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 …
“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 …
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 …
The most amazing scenery I have behold in the United States is not the lovely landscape or the beautiful cities. But a scene of many different races of people in one place. I came from a mono-cultural island, and one can imagine my arrival at the Honolulu, Hawaii airport. I had never seen so many …
In December of 2020, as we approached a new year together, all of us wondered what that new year might bring. Most of us had high hopes that within a few months, we might be gathering again in our sacred spaces for worship, seeing friends face to face that we may not have seen in …
An Update from the Pastoral Team about Worship Development Read More »
Hello everyone, this is Rev. Jeff Lowery, Director of Youth Ministry for Open Door Churches. One of the ways that I live out my call is to write and record songs. Over the past 15 years I have had 3 collections of my original songs recorded, mixed, and manufactured into CD’s. The first project was …
Yesterday, my friend, Dr. Janet G, emailed me and said, “that may be we are free-er than we think we are.” She recalled the things she did this time in the past two years and found they are incomparable to the things she loves and enjoys doing now. She hardly feels restricted in one form …