I thought that the October Oakleaves would be my last, but since November Oakleaves is put together late in October, I will give one last communication here. As I have said, Rosanne and I are filled up by your celebrations and thoughtful and sensitive communications in...
With the arrival of October, I enter into my final month of ministry. I was ordained in June of 1984 and have served three congregations in Ridgewood, New Jersey, Glendale, Arizona, and Rumson. A sense of being called, however, began in childhood. I would sense...
This is my penultimate Oakleaves article. Next month’s will be my last and, in that communication, I want to focus on saying in writing thanks and good-bye. For this article, I want to prepare you for the boundaries which will form after I retire. We will...
As I write, Rosanne and I are preparing for our week with Cynthia Bourgeault and others in Stonington, Maine. I know that the week will be powerful and supportive to our near and far aims of consciously growing toward union with God through daily conscious...
Easter is about openings. Jesus’ tomb was no longer closed but was opened on Easter. After the Risen Jesus appeared to his followers, they no longer stayed behind closed doors but opened themselves to public lives of witness and service. Some even opened themselves to...
Holy Week looms on the horizon. Palm/Passion Sunday is April 10. Our Holy Week worship schedule will include a Maundy Thursday service at 7:30 PM, a Good Friday service at Noon, and one Easter service at 9:45 AM. There will be in-person and virtual options...
Ash Wednesday is March 2nd this year and begins a rather brief period of spiritual preparation for the celebration of Easter. In the early church it was seen as a time of fasting to prepare initiates into the church for baptism. We will have an...
It seems that we all agree, regardless of our ideology and perspective, that we are living in strange times. Change and uncertainty are afoot and with it, anxiety abounds. I prefer life to be harmonious and predictable; but I am beginning to believe that this...
A New Year is before us. It is clear that this New Year will involve more than the usual amount of change. There is my retirement at the end of October. There is a legal suit from an alleged sexual abuse of a Boy Scout...
Rosanne and I are spending Thanksgiving at our upstate home. Our house is an old farmhouse, nearly two hundred years old. It seems an appropriate place for Thanksgiving dinner. In our fast-paced and over-stimulated world, there is some solace in remembering simpler times which existed...