Church

What should we call our two worship services?

Right now we call them “contemporary,” at 9:15, and “traditional” at 11. The “contemporary” label is a bit wobbly. We have a band at that service, with a guitar and bass and strings section and often a banjo these days. But we also have our chancel choir, which is a general no-no with “contemporary” worship. Sometimes they even sing in Latin, as they did last Sunday. Clergy don’t wear robes, we invite children up to the front for a blessing and then Sunday School, we… Read more

One thing I’ve learned as I’ve gotten to know United Church polity is that it is really, really hard to change our church’s foundation.

Our administrative council voted a couple weeks ago in support of a remit to change the UCC’s Basis of Union to allow for an autonomous Indigenous… Read more

“Hey Jaclyn, we want to do something fun, what should we do?”

I noticed this sort of request to our own Jaclyn Didiano early in my time at TEMC. The staff would be gathered at the church or elsewhere. We’d have time to kill. And Jaclyn would alleviate our boredom. Soon we would be playing some game or icebreaker, something Jaclyn accrued from her years in camping or recreation. Ice would be broken. Laughs laughed. Tears shed. Humans humanized.

You probably know Jaclyn… Read more

I was talking with one of you about habits. Good habits. Like eating vegetables, going to church, exercising, going to church, saving money and, well, you know, going to church.

And you said this wise thing, noting how easy it is to grow out of good habits, especially with the 2+ years our world has struggled with COVID-19.

You said, “I can’t do it by myself.” 

This is the genius of Christianity. Lots of faiths, especially… Read more