Category: From the Pastor

From the Interim Pastor | Go Get ‘Em!

From the Interim Pastor | Go Get ‘Em!

At a theology conference I attended a couple years ago, the evening’s final speaker was asked to close the day’s proceedings with a Benediction. However, as an academic, not a Pastor, he was unaccustomed to performing this liturgical act, and seemed unprepared and flustered. After a few awkward moments he looked at the audience, paused, […]

Continue Reading

From the Interim Pastor | A New Year

From the Interim Pastor | A New Year

I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone involved in creating a faithful, beautiful, and joyful season at Erwin Presbyterian Church. From the Harvest Festival on November 20 through Worship on Christmas Day, we were blessed with six weeks of excellent worship, events and activities, with the building decorated wonderfully. This doesn’t just happen […]

Continue Reading

From the Interim Pastor | The Advent

From the Interim Pastor | The Advent

The earliest date of Advent is impossible to determine. There’s evidence of Advent-like practices here-and-there by the 4th Century, and by the 5th and 6th Centuries, the Advent season had been established widely. From its earliest days, Advent was regarded as a season for prayer, confession, and reflection on the meaning of Christ’s coming into […]

Continue Reading

From the Interim Pastor | Count as Blessing

From the Interim Pastor | Count as Blessing

It’s easy and perhaps natural for members of a small-membership church like ours to regret or fret about what we lack. And it’s true, of course, a larger church can offer more and different experiences and opportunities than those available at a smaller one. But different doesn’t mean greater or lesser. It simply means there […]

Continue Reading

From the Interim Pastor | Optimism + Pessimism

From the Interim Pastor | Optimism + Pessimism

There’s a well-known bit of wisdom that goes: “Both optimists and pessimists contribute something of value. The optimist invents the airplane, the pessimist the parachute.” It’s not certain who first said this; it’s been attributed to various sources. But the idea that people are “wired” differently, with each at times annoyed and angered by the […]

Continue Reading