January 27, 2021 Dear Friends, Since I last wrote a letter to the congregation of Union Chapel Indy, we have celebrated the advent of a New Year - Happy New Year! Many were glad to see 2020 relegated to the status of ‘history.’ But we also know that God was working in powerful ways...
Dear Friends - Thank you for receiving with such grace last week's message that we would not meet for in-person worship this last Sunday, November 15, at Union Chapel Indy. Your flexibility in these ever-changing times is a blessing to many! Yesterday, November 16, Indiana...
Dear Friends, I hope this greeting finds you and yours well and safe. When we all received word from Bishop Trimble way back in February that I would be coming to serve as pastor at Union Chapel UMC, none of us would have guessed that we would be making this transition during a global health...
Dear Friends: Advent is approaching quickly. We will celebrate the "Hanging of the Greens" this year on Sunday, November 24th at noon, a few days before Thanksgiving and, then, the race is on! Sunday, December 1st is the first Sunday in Advent. Our theme for Advent this year is "Friends in...
Do you remember the opportunities in the magazines, back when you were a kid, to finish a drawing or to color a picture that you could then submit and, possibly, win a prize? I was always surprised when the magazine published the finalists and the winners’ pictures, how different...
Watching, for even a moment, the coverage the other day (June 6, 2019) of the commemoration of the seventy-fifth anniversary of D-Day, can one fail to be in awe of the courage, conviction and commitment—in other words, the citizenship—of those who crossed the English Channel fully...
The Church Imperfect There’s an old Christmas carol, called, as far as I can tell, “Irish Carol,” whose chorus goes like this: In heav'n the Church triumphant adores with all her choirs The militant on earth with humble faith admires The carol was on an album produced by...
I’ve noticed, lately, an uptick in the injection of sarcastic remarks into dialogue on serious matters in our country. Actually, more than an uptick—more like a flood. How unfortunate! What is sarcasm? My online dictionary (via a Google search) defines...
The mid-term elections are over; only a few votes remain to be counted, only a small number of races yet an issue. If you’re like me at all, you have already let out a sigh of relief. No more campaign ads, no more accusations, no more fear of talking with friends and neighbors...
Just home from a hospital visit with a beloved parishioner. Early this morning, I felt a nudge, a push—get up and go to the hospital soon. Off I went. I sat in the quiet room for a half hour. Quiet prayers. Thinking about this good man’s life; imagining him...