The Lord's Prayer
In the first church I served they told a story about an early pastor of the congregation who had been called right out of seminary. At his very first church council meeting the pastor asked the vice-president of the council to begin the meeting with prayer. In his thick German accent the vice-president replied, “Dat’s vat ve hire you vor!” I’ve always enjoyed that story because it says so much about a couple of things. First of all, it says that some people view pastors
Our Neighbors at Our Southern Border
In my previous congregation in Ohio an Orthodox Jewish congregation built a synagogue across the street from our church. I took a friend over to meet the Rabbi. As they conversed my friend, looking for some common ground, said, “My wife is Jewish.” The Rabbi said coldly, “No she’s not.” There was a big uncomfortable pause in the conversation. My friend said, “What do you mean my wife is not Jewish.” The Rabbi said, even more coldly, “She’s Reformed, not Orthodox.”
Peace Like a River
This year marked the 75th anniversary of D-Day. I would very much like to visit Normandy. I would like to visit what the Allied Forces called Amaha Beach on May 6, 1944 – the day British and American battleships and planes and wave after wave of troops launched the largest invasion in history and launched the United States into the European theater of World War II. I would like to walk among the hundreds of white crosses in the grassy area just above the 100 ft. sheer cli