Author Archives: reallifepastor

My article for Pilgrimage UCC’s December newsletter.   The week before Thanksgiving was a busy one.  The Saturday before, the Race Discussion group visited the Center for Civil and Human Rights.  The next Thursday several Pilgrimage members attended the Ecumenical … Continue reading →

Today’s reading from Luke 1 is a song John the Baptist’s father sings shortly after John’s birth.  Called the “Benedictus,” it’s sung every morning in monasteries around the world. And why not?  It speaks of deliverance, of God honoring God’s … Continue reading →

(“Don’t Worry, Be Happy”)  Does anyone else find that song annoying?  A life-long worrier, I’m annoyed when people tell me not to worry.  Any worriers out there?  Does telling you not to worry help you not to worry?  If you’re … Continue reading →

Yesterday, a few of us visited the Center for Civil and Human Rights.  In one room, you’re invited to sit at a lunch counter.  You put on some headphones then hear the vitriol spewed by white segregationists.  The seats even … Continue reading →

In his book A Call to Action:  Women, Religion, Violence, and Power, Jimmy Carter identifies “the most serious and unaddressed worldwide challenge as the deprivation and abuse of women and girls,” (3). Carter calls achieving rights for women “the human … Continue reading →

How’s it going?  Did you catch yesterday’s game?  How do you feel about the outcome? What’d you just read on Facebook? So.  Let’s take a minute and analyze the sermon thus far.  I’ve just asked four questions.  The first was … Continue reading →

Sermon preached by Matthew Alexander for Consecration Sunday. Giving Meaning to Our Giving He sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury.  Many rich people put in large sums.  A poor widow came and … Continue reading →

Gotta love the classics.  And what better song to usher in the season of Consecration?  J Did you know that the first line actually came from a poem written by Michael McClure?  A friend of Janis’ quoted the line while … Continue reading →

       At Pilgrimage, we believe strongly in what’s called “the priesthood of all believers.”  What that means, in part, is that on any given day God’s Spirit can speak to anyone.  Sometimes that someone is me; sometimes it’s someone else.  … Continue reading →

  The last time I saw Betty was the day the charred skeleton of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City was imploded — May 24, 1995.  Terrorists had bombed the building April 19, 1995, leaving 168 dead, … Continue reading →