Last month Grace celebrated her thirteenth birthday. It was in October that we were officially chartered as a family of faith. As so many other churches in our denomination (and so many others) are grappling with how to embrace change, Grace has already lived out a real-life resurrection story. Three churches faced their death and came out on their other side. They embraced transformation (even though it had its really rough patches), and here we sit nearly a decade and a hal

"Sacred Family in the Streets" by Kelly Latimore In 2016, our General Assembly committed our denomination to reaffirming our connection to one of the most central teachings Jesus ever gave. Years later it became a movement - one that Grace intentionally joined, too.   The passage answers the age-old question, if Jesus came back tomorrow, what would he ask us?   In Matthew 25, Jesus actually tells a parable that responds to that very query. It is about the Messiah coming in gl

This weekend we will celebrate the "Kirking of the Tartans." As we prepare for this beloved tradition, here is a bit of history to help. The word Kirk comes from the Gaelic for "church." The legend of "kirking" tartans (the plaid fabric specifically designed for each clan or family in the Highlands) dates back to the days following the Rising of 1745 when the Scottish rebels, led by the Jacobite Bonnie Prince Charlie, lost on the field of Culloden. In the years that followed,

This weekend we are looking at a healing story in the gospel of Luke when Jesus cures ten lepers. Then nine out of ten of them race on...

This weekend, we will be looking at one of my favorite, oft forgotten parables. It is the other story of Lazarus. Not to be confused with...

This weekend we run into something strange. And no, it's not Jesus speaking in parables. That's just par for the course. This time, Jesus...

"Lost Coin" by James Hasse, S.J. This weekend we continue in Luke's gospel, picking up a set of parables that links with one we explored...

"La Sagrada Familia" by Kelly Latimore While at Ghost Ranch recently I was reminded about a bit of philology that I had misplaced. It is...

This weekend we will finally reach the end of the Genesis narrative. The last of the patriarchs - Joseph - is actually only the fourth...

"Tangled Blessing" by the Rev. Lauren Wright Pittman of A Sanctified Art, LLC This weekend we are tackling Jacob. Kind of an ironic way...

"The Space Between Us" by Roxana Save The Celts believed that throughout the world there were "thin" places. Locations where God comes...

As we mentioned this past Sunday, once the matriarchs and patriarchs stories begin, we are already into the thick of the story. And it...

This weekend we make a turn in Genesis. We began with the primordial stories of how everything came to be or as one of my professors used...

Throughout history, and quite often in Sunday School, we have been taught that the sin of Babel is the sin of Icarus - we flew too close...

We are almost to midsummer and the rains are finally rolling in.   I can still remember the summers of my childhood spent playing around...

"Who will you listen to?" by the Rev. Lauren Wright Pittman of A Sanctified Art, LLC This weekend we are skipping over one of the best...

This coming Sunday is Trinity Sunday. As far as liturgical holidays go, it's right up there in everyone's minds with National Take Your...

This Sunday is Pentecost. And though many of us within the church are quite familiar, I ran into someone earlier this week who was not...

Every year, the month of June is designated as a time to remember those who have gone before us in the LGBTQIA+ community who have died...

One of the adages we are all taught at some point in our lives is "don't sweat the small stuff." And yet, it is often the small stuff...