In October at Emmanuel, we have a tradition of sharing our “Emmanuel Stories.” These are stories of impactful ministry that our members share during the sermon time. Lois Bohnsack shared this story on Sunday, October 4th: Ann is my favorite. Oh, that doesn’t mean I don’t like Robert, Nell, Rosa, Jimmy and all the others, because I do. But for some reason, Ann is my favorite. Maybe it’s her winning smile, or maybe she reminds me of someone I used…
Yesterday we celebrated Reconciling in Christ Sunday. We welcomed back the Rev. Tuhina Verma Rasche as our preacher, and she gave us a phrase I haven’t been able to shake since. Again and again, she said it: “Don’t tell me. Show me.” That’s the thing, isn’t it? It’s easy to say we welcome everyone. It’s printed right there on the cover of our bulletin every single week. But talk is cheap, and the world has heard plenty of churches say…
Yesterday I preached on five words. They come at the very end of a Wendell Berry poem called “The Wild Geese.” Geese cross overhead, the sky closes behind them, and Berry lands on this: And we pray, not for new earth or heaven, but to be quiet in heart, and in eye clear. What we need is here. Read that again. He prays not for a new heaven or a new earth. For a person of faith, that can sound…
“I never thought I’d see a banjo at Emmanuel. But I like it!” I heard some version of that line more than once these past four Sundays. When I wrote about Tom Eure and Amelia Osborne before they arrived, I called that article “Something New (That’s Not So New).” Four Sundays later, the title holds up. Here’s a quick reminder of why they came. When we said goodbye to Ford and stepped into this season of transition, our Worshiping Ministry…
