Over lunch yesterday, a much younger pastor and I talked about our calling, about the future of the Church.  I’m getting ready to take a seat on the sidelines; he’s coming into his prime years of productivity but both of… Continue reading

When I was in the third grade our family moved from rural Iowa to Staten Island, NY into an Italian neighborhood where most everybody was Roman Catholic.  I heard my new friends talking about what they were going to ‘give… Continue reading

It was confirmed again yesterday – Jerry is aging. The eye exam yesterday that while I am a long way from losing my sight (hopefully!) I do need stronger lens. And yes, I struggle to hear speech clearly. My friends… Continue reading

There is a strategy often used in football by a winning team who takes possession of the ball with 2 minutes or less on the game clock. They ‘run out the clock.’  The quarterback lets the maximum time pass, takes… Continue reading

As I sat to reflect and pray, the phone buzzed signaling a text message.  I picked it up thinking it was a notification from a repair tech scheduled to visit the church.  My eyes took in words that instantly made… Continue reading

I really dislike life’s ‘loose ends.’  I like to finish the job. I try to resolve problems, fix what’s broken, clean up the mess. Even as I write these words, in the back of my mind, I am thinking about… Continue reading

There is a document in my files, an agreement with a company that I hope I never have to use. My homeowner’s policy  would pay for reconstruction in the event of fire or flood. It would protect me in the… Continue reading

Words are a wonderful gift, aren’t they?  Words can soothe, excite, inform, comfort, motivate …  and more.  Tragically, in our time, words are cheap, multiplied and amplified. Today a trial will start in the United States Senate that is mostly… Continue reading

All of us have moments when we think, “I cannot do this even one more day!”  Last night, as I prayed about the day, for some reason I remembered an awful evening in December, 2015, just a couple of weeks… Continue reading

The tragic story of Edward VIII fascinates me as a lesson in regrettable choices!  He was born a prince, became loved by the English for being approachable, very different from their king. He was handsome, intelligent, and engaging; but undisciplined.… Continue reading