Category: Pastors’ Letters

September: the month when children go back to school and when church school classes for all ages start again. School teachers know that you do not begin the first day …

A recent issue of Presbyterians Today offered a snapshot of what it means to be a Presbyterian. In the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), there are currently 2.1 million members who belong to 10,700 …

As many of you already are aware, my father passed away in late May after a short battle with lung cancer. For his memorial service, my brother, my sister and …

An occupational hazard of being a pastor is that you rarely get to attend other worship services or hear other minister’s sermons. That is one reason why I enjoy attending …

The month of May is full of commemorative holidays. There is Mother’s Day, on which we give thanks for the “mothering” figures in our lives. There is Memorial Day, the …

Easter Sunday is the highpoint of the church year and of our Christian faith, for it is when we remember the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The language associated with Easter …

Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe recently published a new book of essays. Achebe is internationally known for his classic 1958 novel “Things Fall Apart.”” It is the story of Okonkwo, a …

This month we enter once more into the season of Lent. It is an important time—a chance to stop and reflect on both the fragility and preciousness of life. Officially …

It’s not by accident that common symbols for New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day are “Father Time” depicted as an old, white-bearded man and as a fresh-faced, diaper-clad infant. …

I love language and discovering the origins of peculiar words and phrases. Thinking about words reminds me of several things, such as Reader’s Digest quizzes, or the maddening, multiple-choice vocabulary …