Pastor’s Corner – February 6, 2025
Did you know that in this era of declining religious affiliation in the United States, growth needs to be measured in ways other than membership and attendance figures? Across the nation those metrics are declining. So how do we measure growth today? Here are a few ideas:
In discipleship rather than membership. Jesus never called the church to make members. Jesus called the church to make disciples (Matthew 28:19).
Pastor’s Corner – January 30, 2025
Dear Beloved,
How is your wintering going, my friends? Are you a fan of winter – someone who loves bundling up and playing in the snow. To be honest, winter isn’t my favorite. Yet with each passing year as I grow older, each moment becomes more precious, so each year I have tried to embrace winter a little more. I must admit, I struggled a bit when a huge snowstorm came before we even finished the first week of January, but the idea of rejoicing has always helped me through it –
Pastor’s Corner – January 23, 2025
Did you know that one of the biggest challenges of churches in this era of decline in religious affiliation is maintaining aging buildings that are larger than the needs of the congregations who use them? We all know stories of churches forced to close their doors because they could no longer afford to maintain their campuses. Not only are the lives of the members diminished by the closing of their church, but the neighborhood they once served suffers too.
Pastor’s Corner – January 16, 2025
Dear Beloved,
How are you as 2025 begins? As 2025 begins, I am continuing to ponder our Bible passage from the third Sunday of Advent from Philippians 4 - 4 Rejoicein the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Pastor’s Corner – January 9, 2025
Did you know that I am the only full-time employee at Friedens UCC? This is another trend in church life influenced by the decline in religious affiliation in America. The church in America is relying more and more on part-time employees and the gifts and talents of members and friends.
At Friedens we are blessed with a dedicated and talented team of part-timers: Associate Pastor, Sarah Haas;
Pastor’s Corner – January 2, 2025
Dear Beloved,
I hope you continue to enjoy Christmastide and the hope, love, joy, and peace of Jesus. I give thanks for you and the opportunities we’ve had to worship and serve God together in 2024. I’m grateful that we can pray together and for each other and the world. I’m grateful for those who have come before us, and I’m grateful for God’s mercy. For those of you who have known me for a bit, you know that I love opportunities for fresh starts.
Pastor’s Corner – December 26, 2024
Did you know that charitable giving to churches represents 27% of all charitable giving in the United States, according to research by Nucleus. Not surprisingly, this represents another downward trend connected to the decline in religious affiliation.
Giving in America has diversified to many different non-profit organizations. People give directly to the causes they prefer, no longer looking to the church to make those decisions for them.
Pastor’s Corner – December 19, 2024
Dear Beloved,
How are you as we near the end of Advent - a special season of repentance, reflection, and preparation to welcome Jesus into our lives? By the time this reaches your inbox, it will be a few days until Christmas. By the time another message from me reaches your inbox, it will be 2025, so I would like to invite you to spend some time this Christmas season considering what Christmas means to you?
Pastor’s Corner – December 12, 2024
Did you know that religious affiliation continues to be in decline in the United States? Gallup polling reported that in 2000 42% of American adults attended worship regularly. In 2023 that number dropped to 30%. It is little wonder that today the average church in America reports average attendance of just 50 congregants.
No need to panic. It is the reality that we have been adjusting to for several years at Friedens.
Pastor’s Corner – December 5, 2024
Dear Beloved,
This message will reach your inbox a few days after we have lit the Advent candle of Hope. With this candle and worship experience in mind, I would invite you to reflect upon where/how you find hope and where/how do you share hope with others? Maybe should back up a bit first and reflect on what hope means to you? For me, hope is a gift from God.
Pastor’s Corner – November 28, 2024
Lessons I Live By 6
The older I get the more I want to keep things focused on what really matters. This fall I am sharing some of the lessons I have learned that help me do that. My hope is that my reflections will encourage you to think about the lessons that matter most to you. Choose to live those lessons and share them with those who look to you for encouragement and inspiration.
The sixth and final lesson I am sharing in this series has to do with self-care. I have learned that self-care makes me a more caring person. My leader, Jesus, regularly went off by himself for prayer and solitude. He needed to renew and recharge so he could return to his life of service.
Pastor’s Corner – November 14, 2024
Lessons I Live By 5
The older I get the more I want to keep things focused on what really matters. This fall I am sharing some of the lessons I have learned that help me do that. My hope is that my reflections will encourage you to think about the lessons that matter most to you. Choose to live those lessons and share them with those who look to you for encouragement and inspiration.
The fifth lesson I’ve learned is that the playing field is not level. Though our nation is founded on liberty and justice for all, there is plenty of work to do
Pastor’s Corner – November 7, 2024
Dear Beloved,
I give thanks for you! Thank you for the meal ministries - the meals you prepare for young adults who are welcoming new babies into their families, the meals for people who are going through loss or sadness, the meals for people in the midst of health challenges….
Thank you for the food you bring for the school partner weekenders, the community food box, and the peanut butter for Hunger Inc.
Pastor’s Corner – October 31, 2024
Lessons I Live By 4
The older I get the more I want to keep things focused on what really matters. This fall I am sharing some of the lessons I have learned that help me do that. My hope is that my reflections will encourage you to think about the lessons that matter most to you. Choose to live those lessons and share them with those who look to you for encouragement and inspiration.
The fourth lesson I try to live by is to always be myself.
Pastor’s Corner – October 24, 2024
Dear Beloved,
Thank you for journeying along together in this meditation with colors for the last two months. I realized that with God’s infinite shades and hues, we could journey this way forever! I wonder what your favorite colors have been in the past and present? I wonder if any colors grew on you as you meditated with them? I hope you enjoyed this journey together (through the colors in the ROYGBIV rainbow that I learned in elementary school). Throughout this journey, I grew in my amazement and intrigue with colors -
Pastor’s Corner – October 17, 2024
Lessons I Live By 3
The older I get the more I want to keep things focused on what really matters. This fall I am sharing some of the lessons I have learned that help me do that. My hope is that my reflections will encourage you to think about the lessons that matter most to you. Choose to live those lessons and share them with those who look to you for encouragement and inspiration.
The third lesson I have to share is choosing understanding over judgment. Jesus asked: Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? (Matthew 7:3).
Pastor’s Corner – October 10, 2024
Dear Beloved,
How are you in this new season of autumn? Are there any particular ways we can be praying with you as we journey together in the ways of Jesus? Purple is not the color that comes to mind when I think of autumn, but it is one of the colors that comes up often in the Bible that we have not yet explored in our journey of enjoying some of God’s colors as a way of meditating or engaging in a spiritual practice. When doing a search on www.biblegateway.com, purple came up 51 times -
Pastor’s Corner – October 3, 2024
Lessons I Live By 2
The older I get the more I want to keep things focused on what really matters. This fall I am sharing some of the lessons I have learned that help me do that. My hope is that my reflections will encourage you to think about the lessons that matter most to you. Choose to live those lessons and share them with those who look to you for encouragement and inspiration.
The second lesson I have to share and I try hard to live by is not to take myself too seriously.
Pastor’s Corner – September 26, 2024
Dear Beloved,
I hope you’ve been enjoying our journey of meditating on some of the beautiful colors of God’s creation. Before we move onto another color, I’d like to pause at the rainbow which is where we began this journey. For me, rainbows are a sign of hope - a reminder that God has always been with us, is always with us, and will always be with us - and with everyone and with all creation. Rainbows are a sign of God’s promises of covenantal faithfulness.
Pastor’s Corner – September 19, 2024
Lessons I Live By 1
The older I get the more I want to keep things focused on what really matters. This fall I am sharing some of the lessons I have learned that help me do that. My hope is that my reflections will encourage you to think about the lessons that matter most to you. Choose to live those lessons and share them with those who look to you for encouragement and inspiration.
The first lesson I have to share is the one that is most important and helpful to me—choose to be loving. In any situation or relationship, you will almost always add value by choosing the most loving option you have available to you.