Zoar

I pastored in Eugene for ten years, and because we were a large congregation, I started something called neighborhood groups so our people in geographical proximity could get to know each other. There was a team captain in each neighborhood who called once a month and asked for prayer concerns. And then there was a quarterly get-together at the host's house. I was a neighborhood captain, and in our group was a very classy, dear woman named Sigrid, who was in her early 90s.

Friday afternoon I was wrapping up a visit with Myron and Nancy, and as I was getting ready to leave their place to go visit some other members, they both commented, "You must hear a lot of stories, Pastor...." I smiled and said, "Yes, I do. I get to hear all kinds of stories, and it's a great privilege." In fact, over the past couple of weeks, I've been thinking a lot about some of the stories and bits of wisdom I've heard recently. And as I started to focus on my sermon pre

Maybe it's the emotional roller coaster of being a companion to people who are navigating the peaks and valleys of life. Or maybe it's the bittersweet feeling of saying good-bye to our intern this past week - bitter because I'll miss her, yet also sweet because I trust God has important work for her to do. Or maybe it's my personal stress level, as I frantically try to round up all my runaway "ducks" and get them in a row, so that I can go on renewal leave August 11th in good

So you probably noticed that we're in the part of Matthew now where Jesus tells a whole lot of parables. It's like Jesus warmed up his audience with the parable of the sower where he stopped to explain what it means, and then he ratcheted this parable thing up a little more with last week's parable of the weeds, and then today he lets loose a rapid-fire series of parables that he ends by turning to his disciples and saying, "Have you understood all this?" The text says "they

Back in the day when I was a kid riding in the car with my family, I remember there were a few times when I was looking out the window, and I saw a bumper sticker that got my attention, though I wasn't exactly sure what it meant at the time. The bumper sticker declared, "If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention...." Fast forward a few years to when I was a teenager driving myself around, and I saw that same bumper sticker on an older car: "If you're not outraged, y

Pr. Michelle and I typically choose who's going to preach based on our schedules and not the lectionary so imagine my delight when I opened up today's gospel reading and it was the parable of the sower. I get to talk about soil health to a captive audience! Thank you, Holy Spirit! Now I don't need to explain the meaning of the parable too much because Jesus does it for us. He tells us that seed sown on a path is like the one who hears the good news but let's evil snatch it

Yesterday morning, 23 of us from Zoar participated in Canby's annual Fourth of July parade. It was fun tossing candy, handing out flyers for Vacation Bible School, and greeting our friends and neighbors. We were grateful for cool weather, surprised by the larger-than-usual crowd, and encouraged by the words of community members who expressed gratitude he ministry Zoar's people do in Christ's name. Overall, it was a good morning, and yet for many of us, there was an uneasy fee

I want to begin this sermon by saying "happy heavenly birthday" to my sister, Sandy. Sadly, Sandy passed away from complications related to Parkinson's Disease on December 30th My sister was born almost a generation before me and would've been 81 years old today. She married young - at age 19 - so, I don't remember her ever being at home when I was a young child. In fact, her son, my nephew, Sean, is actually closer in age to me, since he's only four years younger than I am!.

Today's gospel holds a few oft-quoted and difficult nuggets. This text is a continuation of last week’s gospel when Jesus commissions the twelve to go out and "proclaim the good news ... Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons" (Matt. 10:7-8). Oh, and don’t take any money or provisions with you and you’ll be walking into really hard places but it's ok because the Spirit is with you each step along the way. In today>s reading, Jesus continues paintin

Well, it's graduation time, isn't it? Who here has been to a graduation or a promotion or a moving up day recently? (Show of hands) This time of year can be a knotted ball of sorrow for leaving the past behind, nostalgia for the ways things were, anticipation of futures mapped out but not yet trod, relief for just getting past the finish line or regret for not quite making it there. It's a complicated time, this graduation season that we're in. And as I read today's gospel, I

One day last week, I was driving through Barlow on my way to an appointment. I was almost at the stoplight at the intersection of Highway 99 when suddenly the bells began to clang and the railroad crossing bars came down. I rolled my eyes and sighed - as one does! - and thought to myself, "If only I'd been five minutes earlier! Grr..." Then I settled back in my seat to wait, hoping it wouldn't be a long train. Since I was right up front at the crossbars, I had a perfect view

Chances are, if you and I live long enough, we may end up having a mystical experience - a Holy Spirit encounter - that we can't explain. It might come in the form of a vision or dream. It might come as a voice that seems to speak from somewhere deep within us...or from somewhere far beyond us. Over the years, I've heard a number of people tell of such experiences, and some have even said that their experience included an acute sense of smell or a profound sensation of touch.