Caring for Lives, Forsaking Fear

Matthew 10:26-31 ‘So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. Do not fear those who kill the body […]

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The Promise of Inclusion II

Baruch 5:1; 7-9  The Inclusive Bible Take off the garment of your sorrow and affliction, Jerusalem, and put on forever the beauty of the glory from God. For God has ordered that every mountain and the ancient hills be made low and the valleys lifted up, to make level ground, so that Israel may walk […]

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Life in the Upside Down II: Friendship as a Catalyst for Peace

If you haven’t seen the Netflix original show Stranger Things, I highly recommend it. I won’t give a full synopsis here, but even if you are not familiar with it, I think what follows will still be relevant and hopefully meaningful. Let’s talk about friendship. In Stranger Things, friendship takes center stage. It is set […]

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Living in Trust, Living in Peace

Philippians 4:5-8 Emotional health is hard to come by in a world that seems to discourage trust in a healthy way, especially among many of in our communities who have a history of being marginalized. How can we seek a path out of the destructive patterns that recreate abusive relationships? How can we work towards […]

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How Do We Measure Success?

Luke 10:1-11 This story, in my opinion, is about how one defines success.My initial thoughts on the background of this Luke story: it’s originally a Mark story, but instead of Jesus sending out 12 [as in Mark], Jesus sends 70, or is that 72? Some Bible translations go with 70, while others say 72. Why? […]

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Spirit-Connected Truth-Living

John 16:12-15   Inclusive Bible I have much more to tell you, but you can’t bear to hear it now. When the Spirit of truth comes, she will guide you into all truth. She won’t speak on her own initiative; rather, she’ll speak only what she hears, and she’ll announce to you things that are to […]

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Pentecost Inside, Spirit Outside

John 14:8-17; 24-27   What is on the inside eventually shows itself on the outside. Have you seen the Pixar movie Inside Out? Many have, but just in case you missed it, Inside Out’s story revolves around a young girl named Riley, who is uprooted from her comfortable Minnesota home when she moves to the […]

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Why Unity Is Love & Light

John 17:20-26 We are each other’s harvest; we are each other’s business; we are each other’s magnitude and bond.[1] Like a sculptor, if necessary, carve a friend out of stone. Realize that your inner sight is blind and try to see a treasure in everyone.[2] If everyone helps to hold up the sky, then one […]

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Walking with the Spirit of Peace

John 14:23-29 On Sunday, May 1st, more than 400 hundred people from the Greater Philadelphia area participated in the annual Interfaith Peace Walk. I walked, as I have the past 5 years. Some have asked me: what is the point of such a walk? I appreciate the question, as it usually comes from a place […]

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Room in the Tomb, Room for Doubt

John 20:19-29 The tomb is still empty. Really, it is. The peeps have been eaten [or at least mostly eaten], the baskets emptied of their sugary substances and plastic grass, and the Easter egg hunts are a distant memory. It’s the week after, and the tomb is still empty. In Luke’s Gospel story, a group […]

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