Category: Going The Distance

The official start to the season of fall is now upon us. For me, fall always began on the first Wednesday after Labor Day when I returned to school for another year. The air was different, a little cooler, and the days were ending a little earlier each evening. Soon the foliage that blanketed the hills would burst forth with glorious colors.

Many people call elsewhere home. Can Naples ever be home if you spend part of the year elsewhere, if your kids and grandkids aren’t here, or if this isn’t where you built your family? … Can we be a community in which, when we are together, we know we’re with our people, and that there’s a place for us? That’s what home is after all, safety, security, and comfort, isn’t it?

The use of the lectionary helps congregations expand their exposure to more parts of the Bible. 

I imagine our lives as constellations, full of stars of people who loved us, rooted for us, wanted the best for us. Now they’re surrounding us, watching over us, and guiding us as we continue life’s journey.

Where can we turn for our help?  How can we cultivate sturdy souls?  We can turn to the church.  We can find help to keep our souls sturdy.  At church our souls get a workout, becoming strong and resilient.  At church our souls get stretched and strengthened.  At church our souls get realigned so that we can be agile and flexible about how to live out of compassion and generosity instead of the greed and desperation we see around us.

Many times in our lives we have been not affiliated or have undergone a huge transition that we lost our identity. No matter how disorienting it can be to lose an identity or an affiliation, we can trust that we are God’s people.

Three of my favorite teachers were also members of my church so my behavior in those classes was exemplary. …It gives me comfort to know that they worshipped with me and kept an eye on me throughout the years, offering encouragement and advice in my early and mid-adult years.

Do what you can today, and don’t worry about leaving some things undone, they’ll get done tomorrow or the next day. Don’t think you have to finish all the tasks before you can rest, otherwise you’ll never rest in this life.

What time is it?  Perhaps it’s time for us to stand amid war and proclaim peace.  Or to break the code of silence to stand with those who have no voice of their own. Maybe it’s time to wrestle with the question: If not now, then when?

For a few seconds at least, I gave thanks to the Lord with my whole heart.  It was not half-hearted thanks; my heart was really in it. I was truly thankful. But then, I went on about my business and didn’t have such a ‘wholehearted’ thanks again for a good long time.