By Pastor Mark Combs There is a story that has been around for a very long time. It will occasionally be sent around again on e-mail and internet sites. While I know that we have all heard it before, I have used it before in Chimes articles, it bears repeating. The story goes: A professor …
Category Archive: From the Pastor’s Desk
From the Pastor's Desk
Feb 10
From Vicar Amanda’s Desk – February 2013
By Amanda Highben “Love is the active outpouring of one’s whole being into the being of another.” - Martin Luther King, Jr. One of the reasons why I appreciate our partnership in Downtown Churches Youth Fellowship (DCYF) is that the leaders work together to develop and implement ideas. As we brainstormed service opportunities for the …
Dec 28
From the Pastor’s Desk – January 2014
By Pastor Mark Combs Frederick Buechner is quite a skilled writer, and several years ago a book of excerpts of his writings was compiled as a daily devotional. I often go to it when I am looking for ideas and illustrations. I would like to share this one with you. It is called Epiphany. The …
Nov 27
From Vicar Amanda’s Desk – December 2013
By Amanda Highben Waiting in Hope “So it is that Advent is not about Mary’s pregnancy but about the church’s continual prayer that God will come (the root meaning of ‘advent’) to us, bringing life to a dying world. Advent in the northern hemisphere is a time to meditate on the darkness in the universe, …
Nov 27
From the Pastor’s Desk – November 2013
By Pastor Mark Combs I have learned along the way that we have some definite expectations of what subjects are acceptable to talk about and which subjects are not acceptable. In public discourse, we are often told that the off-limits subjects are money, religion and politics. We know how often that rule gets broken, but …
Sep 27
From Vicar Amanda’s Desk – October 2013
By Amanda Highben Greetings sisters and brothers in Christ! It’s good to be back in your midst again now that Zeb and I have made it through our first seven weeks of caring for a newborn. Cecilia has blessed and enriched our lives in ways we never imagined, but we’ve also discovered just how much …
Sep 27
From the Pastor’s Desk – September 2013
By Pastor Mark Combs I know you have seen the books in bookstores and other places. The one that started it was Robert Fulghum’s “All I Ever Needed to know I Learned in Kindergarten.” After that one there came all sorts of variations, “Learned from Star Trek,” “Learned from a Children’s Book,” “Learned from my …
Aug 14
From the Pastor’s Desk – August 2013
By Pastor Mark Combs I know that you have all heard me ask the question, “If you were put on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?”. I know you have heard this question, because it is a theme that I revisit periodically in sermons. I raise the question …
Aug 14
From Vicar Amanda’s Desk – July 2013
By Amanda Highben There is a perception for some that churches “rest” in the summer, taking a break from their usual activities and ministry endeavors. This is true to a degree. For example, the choirs and Sunday school classes for children are on hiatus until September, as many families are on vacation or traveling to …
Jun 16
From the Pastor’s Desk – June 2013
By Pastor Mark Combs I shared an article with the church council at our May meeting that was talking about the prayer life of congregations. The article talked about the differences in declining congregations and growing congregations. He went on to discuss how the observance of church related things has changed in the course of …