In our Adult Sunday School Class, we have been talking about spirituality from an historical perspective. At once we are learning some of the Story of the Church, and about a wide variety of ways people have expressed and lived out their faith through the centuries, asking, what can we use? I believe that it […]
In our Wednesday Class we recently heard an interview of Kathleen Norris, spiritual writer and poet who became well known for her book, Dakota: a Spiritual Geography. She moved from New York City to live in her grandparent’s house in a small town in South Dakota – can you imagine? She discusses the little Presbyterian […]
Some will remember the movie, “Chariots of Fire” about the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris. One of the runners for Great Britain, Eric Liddell was a devote Presbyterian from Scotland and when he was informed that his first heat for the 100 yard dash was on Sunday he refused to run. At the time I […]
We have begun our annual Stewardship program. Each year at this time we focus on our giving, and we ask all to fill out a pledge card (estimation of giving in the coming year) so we can formulate a budget and plan for the future. That’s the practical side of it but it is much […]
I am proud that we are a Reconciling Congregation because of the Bible, not in spite of it. In the United Methodist Church Reconciling Congregations are those that are open to lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgendered people (LGBT). We invite them to participate fully in the life of the Church. We support same sex marriage […]
One of the questions for Questions Sunday was, “We’ve become a Reconciling Congregation, what’s next?” I love this question because it’s one I ask myself, and I want to ask all of you. Becoming a Reconciling Congregation has energized our Church. It has honed our sense of identity and purpose, excited us about our ministry […]
Here are some of the opportunities to participate or serve in the Cedar Cross community: Caring Committee The Caring Committee meets every Monday at 10:00 am. We review the joys and concerns voiced on Sunday; we manage the Prayer Chain; we send cards; we provide meals to people in our congregation who are in need; […]
I have a memory of a seminary professor making a comment, after a long discussion about a book in the Bible, considering it’s context, literary style, form and structure he said, “well, in the end we have stories.” We all have stories; I would also say that our lives are stories, stories that carry meaning. […]
A number of people have approached me to ask, “Now that we are a Reconciling Congregation what happens next?” The first thing is for us to be officially recognized as a new Reconciling Congregation by the Reconciling Ministries Network at our Annual Conference on June 21st. With that we will be on the list of […]
I am in favor of becoming a Reconciling Congregation because of the Bible, not in spite of it. One of my father’s professors as Yale Divinity School, Roland Bainton used the distinction between precedence and principle in biblical interpretation. Precedence is any single event or verse which is lifted from its context and given unqualified […]
