On Saturday evening, May 3, I had the privilege of speaking at the Night of Justice worship service sponsored by Sunflower Community Action Partners. There were a number of speakers and time was precious. The following is my offering for the event. I post it here because I think the times demand action on our… Read more Night of Justice Speech
I am looking forward to Sunday, May 11th. This is traditionally known as Mother’s Day. In the nineteenth century Julia Ward Howe campaigned for a national observance of a Mother’s Day for Peace, but Anna Jarvis is credited with making Mother’s Day nationally recognized day. She held a memorial for her mother in 1908. She… Read more FROM OUR INTERIM PASTOR
I’ve been thinking lately about the Pledge of Nonviolence that I and many of us signed last August. To quickly review, we pledged to make peace with ourselves and our families, to respect self and others, to communicate better, to listen, to forgive, to play creatively, to be courageous. In so doing we will work… Read more FROM OUR INTERIM PASTOR – EARTH DAY
A fundamental contradiction became clear to all who participated in the Maundy Thursday worship service. The enactment of the Last Supper included the reading of 10 male parts, but many of the parts were read by women. The role of Judas was also played by a woman. Seeing women take roles assigned to men reminded… Read more FROM OUR INTERIM PASTOR – A DISCIPLESHIP OF EQUALS
Henri Nouwen reminds us in our Lenten Meditation that the Christian community is not a result of human efforts. God has called us, he writes, “out of slavery into freedom, out of sin into salvation, out of captivity into liberation. By our common call we recognize each other as brothers and sisters.” The Jewish community… Read more FROM OUR INTERIM PASTOR … THE JOURNEY OF HOLY WEEK
This week marks the end of our house church experience during the season of Lent. We have studied and discussed papers that were instrumental in shaping the life and mission of PVCC when the church began in 1966, almost 50 years ago. We feel the influence of these studies even today. Our final paper was… Read more FROM OUR INTERIM PASTOR
The purpose of the Communicator is to facilitate communication among our members and with our friends. How are we doing? I ask this question because sometimes I hear someone say, “The Communicator is too long! It’s supposed to be short!” I plead guilty as charged. My goal is to have it both ways. I want… Read more FROM OUR INTERIM PASTOR
We are a gathered and scattered community. That is the way PVCC defined itself from the very beginning and it has stayed true to this calling. In 2016 the congregation will celebrate its 50th anniversary. Communion is at the heart of our worship service. Everything in the service leads up to this celebration of God’s… Read more FROM OUR INTERIM PASTOR
We are now in the season of Lent. Our theme is “Becoming A People Grounded in God’s Love.” Our Lenten devotional booklet is Henry Nouwen’s, God’s Abiding Love. In the mediation for Ash Wednesday Nouwen writes, “In prayer we seek God’s voice and allow God’s word to penetrate our fear and resistance so that we… Read more FROM OUR INTERIM PASTOR
When the ministry of PVCC was launched in 1966 members described the church as a “Gathered and Scattered” community. They said that they “Gathered to study and worship in order to be prepared to be the Scattered Presence in the world witnessing to the world about life revealed in Jesus Christ by Working for Justice… Read more FROM OUR INTERIM PASTOR