There are houses on our street that still have their Christmas lights up. And not just our street but many others as well. I bet there are in your neck of the woods, too. Bright lights of all colors just blazing away, doing their best to bust through the dark and the snow. Almost shining defiantly as if to say. “You can’t tell me when Christmas is over” or perhaps: “The dark is so dark and we need a little light in our lives”. I confess that while our inside tree was taken down some time ago...

I don’t want to say very much this week. Rather I want to share with you a gift and I don’t want my words to distract from this gift. The gift is coming through me but isn’t from me. It is a gift from our fellow sojourners in the Minnesota Conference. With all that is happening in Minneapolis right now, there impetus was to give us a gift to remind us that part of our call as church is to keep bringing hope into the world no matter how challenging that may be. I know I am inspired by both...

What did you do to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day yesterday? Did you attend a breakfast to remember him and his work and ministry? Gather with a group to talk about how far we’ve come (or haven’t come) since he lived and died? Go about your day thinking, praying, and wishing for unity, racial justice, and peace (someday, dear God, some day)? Like some of you, I remember when this day was not a federal holiday and kids spent time in class learning and remembering Martin Luther King, Jr....