My sermon this week looked at a very familiar story—Jesus feeding over five thousand people with a sack lunch—and what new things I noticed in it. _________________________ One of the (many) books I have on my shelf is one called The Art of Noticing by a man named Rob Walker, and it is exactly what…

The passage that informed my sermon this week tells of Jesus sending his disciples out in pairs, rather than just following him. It was their first such venture, and it still speaks. ___________________ When I was a high school English teacher, I did an exercise with my ninth graders where they had to write instructions…

In Robert Frost’s poem “Death of the Hired Man,” one of the characters says, Home is the place where, when you have to go there, They have to take you in. That line came to mind as I read about Jesus’ return to Nazareth, his hometown, and left me wondering how we make room for…

I was back in the pulpit at Mount Carmel Congregational Church this past Sunday after my time away in and around Belfast. I am grateful I get to be in both places. Here is what I found at the crossroads. _________________________ Since I just got back from Ireland where I was the chef for two…

One of my favorite things to do, particularly now as spring is here, is to take the long way back to Guilford as I go home. I meander down Highway 22, through Northford and North Branford, winding through farms and houses, and I have also gotten into the habit of stopping at the Defrancesco Farm…

If you were looking for a sermon that includes a Hebrew prophet, seraphs, clams, and homemade pizza, you just found it. _________________________ I did something on Friday I had never done before: I went clamming. A man in the Guilford church named Charlie has talked to me about going for a while, but Friday around…

This past Sunday was Pentecost in the Christian tradition, one of our major calendar events that has lots of layers to it. Here is what I found in the layers alongside of this story from Ezekiel. _________________________ When we read the story of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on what we have come to call Palm…

It was on a summer day some thirty years ago that I sat across from my friend Billy for our fifth or sixth consecutive night of eating lobster at Nunan’s Lobster Hut in Kennebunkport, Maine. I loved lobster, so the chance to eat there night after night was heaven. Until it wasn’t. Towards the end…

The scripture for this past Sunday was the story of Jesus’ followers trying to figure out how to choose someone to replace Judas. It is a story of grief and community. ___________________ One of the tools counselors used to help their clients evaluate what is happening in their lives is the Perceived Stress Scale. One…

My sermon this week was based on John 15:11-17, a passage where Jesus tells his disciples they are his friends. That set me wondering . . . ____________________________ Many years ago I was in a worship service in Texas where a visiting minister from Zambia was preaching. He began his sermon by talking about some…