I preached my first sermon in a full year since retiring at the end of June last year, and I was asked back to East Shore to preach! Yes, I had some reservations, yes there were minor glitches-the new church secretary left out the alternate words I wanted for “Shall We Gather by the River” that were written by old friend, John…

At a church-related boys school, a group of first graders were assigned to put the Bible Xmas story in their own words. Of course they had the familiar characters like Joseph, shepherds, the three wise men, even an angel propped up in the background. But Mary was nowhere to be seen. Evidently, the 1st grade boys had to be creative with the…

Some people are like the ship captain who, long before computers and modern communication, the story goes, saw one night at sea what looked like the lights of another ship heading toward him. He had his signal man blink to the other ship: “Change your course 10 degrees south.” The reply came back: “Change your course 10 degrees north.” The captain answered…

Just ask the kids; how to prepare a Thanksgiving dinner by Mrs. Gerahty’s Kindergarten class. Note- Mrs. Geraghty will not be responsible for medical bills resulting from use of her cookbook.Russell – Turkey You cut the turkey up and put it in the oven for ten minutes and 300 degrees. You put gravy on it and eat it.Geremy – Turkey You buy…

Opening Reading When giving thanks comes hard for youand things are running grim,And hope runs thin, Recall:Despair’s a door to pass on through,And not a home for living in.When thanksgiving fills your cup,And those you love are all about,Look at your blessings, count them up,and give back something to the world without.Go in peace.Go for peace.For all who seek God,May God be…

Yes, we are the church you might have seen described in the Doonesbury comic strip and yes, the minister Scott Sloan was a Unitarian Universalist! Indeed he in typical fashion had both a law degree as well as Master of Divinity degree and was the chaplain when Garry Trudeau went to Yale. The minister’s name was Scotty McLennan and he wrote a…

A journalist was planning a visit to Japan. It would be his first visit, and he was a little anxious because he couldn’t speak Japanese. How would he communicate with the people he came in contact with? Since most taxi drivers do not speak English, someone suggested that it might be a good idea to carry with him something bearing the name…

A friend of mine tells the story of making his first trip south of the Mason-Dixon Line from Chicago to Georgia. On his first morning in the South he went into a restaurant to order breakfast, and it seemed that every dish included something called grits…which, as my Texas friends tell me, is exactly the way God intended it. Not being familiar…

We celebrate International Peace Day today, which actually occurs September 21st ; we put out our now traditional “Pinwheels for Peace” organized by our Director of Religious Education, Halcyon Domanski. Usually when we talk about Peace, we talk about politics; how you can avoid that? We talk about war and violence, but it always seems so far away, so removed from us…

Wedding Vows or Miranda’s Rights? A woman reported that she was watching her 5-year-old granddaughter play with her dolls. At one point, she “staged” a wedding, first playing the role of the bride’s mother who assigned specific duties, then suddenly becoming the bride with her “teddy bear” groom. She picked him up and said to the “minister” presiding over the wedding, “Now…