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About eight years ago, while teaching, I introduced my students to Día de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead. You see, I’ve always found cemeteries peaceful, full of memory and meaning, and I’ve never understood the fear of death common in American culture. So, as Halloween approached, with all its spooky imagery, it felt like the perfect moment to expand our worldview beyond fright to remembrance and connection while learning some new Spanish vocab along the way.  Many of the children had already seen sugar skulls and marigolds in store Halloween displays, so we started there. Through a simple compare-and-contrast activity, curiosity blossomed. TheyRead More →

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It sounds dramatic, doesn’t it?  “I’ve been given an ultimatum.”  But really, it’s more of an invitation from our Trustees. The carpet in the parsonage has reached the end of its useful life. Recently we discovered beautiful hardwood floors hiding underneath. Instead of replacing the carpet, we’ve opted to refinish the floors.  There’s only one catch: it’s hard to live in a house when your bedrooms and bathrooms are off-limits for several days. So, the Trustees have issued their “ultimatum” that we have to go somewhere for a few weeks. They didn’t have to twist my arm at all.  As I stared at that wornRead More →

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My journey with Children’s Sabbath began in 2021, when I led my former congregation’s first observance. That initial experience was simple but helped begin a powerful shift. Children and youth stepped into new roles in worship, from reading scripture to offering prayers. Over time, they moved from “helping out” to truly leading, and I watched intergenerational connections take root. The spirit of Children’s Sabbath began to shape how children were seen and heard throughout the entire year.   In 2023, I had the opportunity through seminary to attend the Hall-Proctor Institute for Child Advocacy Ministry at Haley Farm in Clinton, TN. It was worship like neverRead More →

An Ice agent holding a toddler

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Something about this photo stopped me. It wasn’t the tactical gear or the government patch. It wasn’t even the tension behind the camera: federal officers in Chicago, a raid unfolding, people watching in fear or confusion. It was this moment. An officer, in full gear, holding a small child.  The photographer, Derek Nielsen, isn’t a journalist. He’s a nature and conservation photographer who happened to capture this scene while documenting his city. No political agenda, no press badge, just a person with a camera, using his gift to bear witness.  Among Derek’s images that day were officers with helmets, batons, and covered faces. Some looked hardened,Read More →

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Over the weekend I heard a short clip from a recent sermon by Adam Hamilton. I’m glad I was sitting down, because the questions he quoted hit me hard and they’ve been haunting me since. Hamilton credited conservative pastor Joe Carter, who wrote them back in 2020. In the clip I saw, here are the two questions that hit me: At first I thought, Bingo! That’s it. That’s what’s happening across our society, left and right. We’re trading a living faith for a political identity. I can name folks on both sides who would answer “yes” to those two questions without even blinking. But theRead More →

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Last Saturday I was driving east on Route 38 between DeKalb and Geneva when I saw them coming the other way. A big, black, unmarked SWAT-like vehicle followed by a few unmarked cars. Men in tactical gear with familiar gator coverings around their necks. It wasn’t a chase; they weren’t in a hurry. Just commuting. But I knew immediately who they were: ICE.  The sight jolted me back to 2018. Back then, I was sitting outside a Rochelle elementary school, watching oddly parked unmarked cars, wondering if I was about to see a raid as buses unloaded children. My stomach was tight. I ran throughRead More →

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One of the habits that shapes me is starting each day with Scripture. My first 7–12 minutes after waking are spent with an app that offers a short opening prayer, a prayer of confession, two Scripture readings, the Lord’s Prayer, and a blessing for the day. It’s not Bible study or sermon prep. It’s what I do for my own spiritual practice. Bleary-eyed, I simply read it, pray it, let it pass through me. It’s part of my routine as I move on to a workout, then cup of coffee and the day’s tasks. But sometimes a verse lingers. Sometimes the Holy Spirit won’t letRead More →

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Coming home from my worship planning retreat, I find myself reflective. It happens every year I drive. After 5 days in the mountains, praying and planning, then driving 1000 miles home. It leaves me both tired and full. Tired because the work is intense. Full because God is faithful. And it leaves me plenty of room to think. As I returned this year, after pondering the whole drive home, there were a few prominent thoughts that came to mind, notably three things of which I’m especially proud. These aren’t the only things worth celebrating, but they are three reminders of how God is moving amongRead More →

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This time of year, gardens and farmers’ markets (and even our own fellowship hall) are often overflowing with tomatoes. Not just the neat, red, uniform kind lined up in grocery store bins, but heirloom tomatoes in all their wild unique beauty. Some are striped and spotted, others are lumpy and uneven. They come in every shade you can imagine, from deep purple to golden yellow. And there’s nothing quite like a tomato warmed and ripened by the sun, sliced open and sprinkled with a little salt. Or that perfect, simple southern classic, a tomato and mayo sandwich. The flavor is unlike anything that traveled milesRead More →

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I don’t know about you, but it seems like every week (or day!) brings new reasons to feel unsettled. Whether it’s global conflicts, natural disasters, political drama, or the quieter struggles happening in our own homes and communities, we’re living in a season where certainty feels hard to come by. In times like these, it can be tempting to think faith requires us to have simple answers or steady confidence. But the Bible shows us something different: a long line of people who dared to wrestle with God, to ask hard questions, and to push back when things didn’t make sense. Jacob wrestled with GodRead More →