Nelson United Church

         My childhood memories of the beginning of Advent are quite lovely and wonderful in many ways.  We started singing Advent carols—with a few Christmas Carols thrown in for good measure.  At some point, dad and I would string up a few lights on the house around the beginning of December.  We would light Advent read on →

            It’s interesting the kinds of conversations that come up regarding the Church in casual situations like having coffee, lunch, a chance encounter in the grocery store, at a party; I’m talking about the capital “C” Church—the world-wide Church.  There are a lot of criticisms about Church, and in my opinion, they have now become read on →

   What do we make of these verses from the 3rd prophet known as Isaiah offered some 2400 years ago?  (Isaiah 65:17-25) Is it a naïve bit of fluff that will never happen?  Or is there something deeper and more profound going on in this idyllic vision of peace with justice?          This past week we read on →

         There’s an old Midrash story told by Gil Rendle; it’s at the beginning of his latest book about quiet, courageous leadership in the Church.  It is a story about the Exodus when Moses led the people out of slavery in Egypt.  According to the story, the Jews came to the Red Sea and… nothing.  read on →

         I’ll let you in on a little secret: I love Kung Fu movies; movies with Bruce Lee, Jet Li, Chow Yun-Fat, Jackie Chan, Michelle Yeoh, Angela Mao, Bolo Yeung.  Even David Carradine, who starred in the TV series Kung Fu.  What I’ve appreciated—not so much the violence—is the graceful dance of the Kung Fu read on →

         I heard a rebroadcast of an interview Mary Hynes of CBC’s Tapestry did with the late John O’Donohue.  It was from some years ago, more than 15, I think.  Mary introduced it by suggesting that John’s lasting contribution to Spirituality and Christianity was his ability to weave both hope and the dire reality of read on →

Thanksgiving, 2019          As many of you know, I’ve long admired Brother David Steindl-Rast’s work in being a proponent of gratitude and living from a place of thankfulness and gratefulness.  He started an online presence of gratitude at gratefulness.org.  The reflection for this week as part of the weekly email I receive was timely for read on →

Sermon Title: Help Wanted| Scriptures: Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4 & Luke 17:5-10  The following story comes from a church newsletter from the United Church of Christ in Douglas, Wyoming which is the congregation I served before retiring.      A prison work crew in Tampa Florida was working on the side of the road repairing concrete read on →

Lazarus and Rich Man Luke 16:19-31 Interesting story. Kind of puzzling. I think the first and most important thing in understanding it, is to resist the temptation to make the story Jesus tells about Lazarus and the Rich Man into a blueprint for the afterlife. This is actually a story about the here and now read on →

Sermon Title: Revering God in the Real World. Scripture: Luke 16:1-13 At a large airport, a family sits among what seems to be much of their worldly goods. There are several large suitcases, a big well-taped box, two bulging duffle bags and four backpacks (two of them stuffed with toys). In the midst of this read on →