-
Recent Posts
Categories
- Bible
- Buildings
- COVID
- Doomed
- History Lessons
- Holy-Days
- LBGTQ
- Maine Cautionary Tales
- Misc
- My Life as Pastor
- On the Hopeful Side
- Other Denominations/Christians
- Popular Culture, Movies, TV
- Should Have Learned in Div School
- Sports
- Studies, Demographics, Reality
- Uncategorized
- United Church of Christ
- Worship
Archives
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
Meta
Category Archives: Holy-Days
A Not So Good Good Friday
We are well into our “stay at home” order that Maine’s Governor put into place April 2nd. At Old South, we have been holding worship services, meetings and other gatherings online. This new format isn’t perfect, but it has offered … Continue reading
Posted in Holy-Days
Tagged COVID-19, Good Friday, O Sacred Head Now Wounded, Stay at Home
2 Comments
Reflections on Hosanna
Homily for April 5, 2020, Palm Sunday … Continue reading
A Lenten Discipline 2020
I tell you, on the day of judgement you will have to give an account for every careless word you utter; for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned. Matthew 12:36-37 Lent … Continue reading
Posted in Holy-Days
Tagged Clergy, gossip, Lent 2020, Lenten discipline, Maine Conference United Church of Christ
Leave a comment
The Heartbreak of Christmas 2019
At Old South, Christmas Eve has become the most unwelcome and dire of bellwethers. When I began my ministry with Old South, in 2005, I heard quite a lot about the annual Christmas Eve service. The bell choir would play … Continue reading
Posted in Holy-Days
Tagged Christmas, Christmas Eve, Church decline, least religious, Maine, Old South Church Hallowell
Leave a comment
Do I Need to Write About This?
Do I Need to Write About This? That was the first thought that entered my fuzzy head when I woke up to the news that the President had been impeached. I don’t want to write about this. It’s Christmas; I’ve … Continue reading
Posted in Holy-Days
Tagged Christmas, impeachment, Old South Congregational Church Hallowell, President Trump
Leave a comment
Old South the Musical or Old South the Opera?
Are we comedy or tragedy? One of the most important Sundays on the church calendar for me is the Sunday after Easter. That’s when I get the best sense of the state of the church I’ve served for almost fifteen … Continue reading
Posted in Holy-Days, Worship
Tagged Easter Sunday, Easter Worship, Lives of Faith, Small church
Leave a comment
Where Would We Be Without the Women?
Western Christians gathered this past weekend for the most significant of holy days, Easter (Eastern Orthodox Easter is next weekend). For those Christian Churches that follow the Revised Common Lectionary (and many that do not) the Sunday Easter worship service … Continue reading
Posted in Holy-Days
Tagged Easter, Mary of Magdala, women clergy, women in Christianity
Leave a comment
Advent-ish
When I first started serving as Pastor and Teacher at Old South Church in Hallowell, Maine, it was only a couple of months before Advent. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when it came to Old South’s usual Advent … Continue reading
Posted in Holy-Days
Tagged Advent, Christmas, Christmas Carols, Genealogy of Jesus, Genealogy of Jesus and women, MeToo, The Junia Project
Leave a comment
Winter’s People
In Central Maine, especially where I live on a tranquil Maine lake, it feels like we are still very much in the grip of winter. There’s still plenty of snow on the ground, temperatures are chilly, and the lake doesn’t … Continue reading
Where Does Easter Start?
As I was scanning the local newspaper a couple of days ago, I stopped at an almost full-sized ad from one of the local supermarket chains. The colors of the ad, bold spring colors on a page that was otherwise … Continue reading
Posted in Holy-Days
Tagged Dr. Seuss, Easter, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, O Sacred Head Now Wounded
Leave a comment