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September 25, 2016 – 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15; 1 Timothy 6:6-19; Luke 16:19-31 Ordinary 26C Proper 21 The subject line read: “The sweet smell of self love.”..
Faith and public office: Kay Hagan and Jim Martin
As I began to put together this issue of the Outlook dedicated to the relationship between faith and public service, I asked..
Joining the tax collectors
Jesus called a tax collector to be one of his disciples. Jesus included an IRS agent among his closest friends. I understand..
September 18, 2016 — 25th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Luke 16:1-13 Ordinary 24C; Proper 20 Money, money, money. Why is Luke always going on about money and possessions? Can’t we move..
September 11, 2016 — 24th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Luke 15:1-10 Ordinary 24C; Proper 19 “The world never looks as big as when someone is lost.” This is the last sentence..
September 4, 2016 — 23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time
Jeremiah 18:1-11; Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18; Luke 14:25-33 Ordinary 23C; Proper 18 The lectionary brings us sobering texts this week. The prophet declares..
What does a leader look like?
“Where have all the leaders gone?” This is the title of a chapter in Leah Gunning Francis’ book, “Ferguson & Faith.” Francis..
August 28, 2016 – 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16; Luke 14:1, 7-14 Ordinary 22C; Proper 17 There is a whole lot of watching going on at the Pharisee’s..
Just say yes
This issue was supposed to be our annual stewardship issue, the 32 or so pages devoted to the nuts and bolts of..
August 21, 2016 — 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time
Luke 13:10-17 Ordinary 21C; Proper 16 No one wants to be chomping at the bit. No one wants to be caught between..
Moving from alarmed to alert
Still on Eastern time, I awoke in Portland, Oregon, hours before most of the city’s inhabitants. I took advantage of a few..
August 14, 2016 – 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Hebrews 11:29-12:2; Luke 12:49-56 Ordinary 20C; Proper 15 Well, perhaps Jesus is right around the corner because, according to this Luke text,..
August 7, 2016 – 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Luke 12:32-40 Ordinary 19C; Proper 14 To fear or not to fear. That seems to be the question. Political speeches on all..
Stopping on yellow
My neighbor, the one who loves nature and Golden retrievers, says he is going to write a book and title it, “We..
July 31, 2016 – 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Luke 12:13-21 Ordinary 18C; Proper 13 I like big barns and I cannot lie. It is difficult, I would suggest, to live..
July 24, 2016 – 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Hosea 1:2-10; Luke 11:1-13 Ordinary 17C; Proper 12 There are times when the “not appropriate for children” parts of the Bible come..
July 17, 2016 – 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Colossians 1:15-28; Luke 10:38-42 Proper 11; Ordinary 16C Be like Mary, not Martha, so goes the often repeated, simplistic lesson from this..
To all the saints in Mt. Gilead and Tirzah
We are a denomination of small churches, many of which are located in rural areas. There are statistics upon statistics that document..
I am going to pray
I feel like a small child, cowering and afraid in my room because my parents are fighting. I no longer believe their..
July 10, 2016 – 8th Sunday after Pentecost
Luke 10:25-37 Proper 10; Ordinary 15C The walking dead. That’s who the priest and the Levite are in this text. The man..
Unicorns, dinosaurs, cockroaches and sheep
Unicorns were the topic on the radio talk show. “Unicorns” being startup tech companies worth a billion dollars before they even..
Final plenary session of the 222nd General Assembly passes increases to per capita
PORTLAND, Ore. – Late at night on Friday, June 24, two committees – the committee on General Assembly Operations and the Mission..
Assembly recommends the PC(USA) returning to using “minister of Word and Sacrament” rather than “teaching elder”
PORTLAND, Ore. – The adoption of the new Form of Government in 2012 brought with it several changes in the terminology that..
Mission Coordination committee’s work passes plenary
PORTLAND, Ore. – A proposal that the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) withdraw from the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice drew considerable discussion from..