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Connecting with Poverty in Our Community

3 min read

A week or so ago the Oregonian published an article about poverty in our neck of the woods. The article profiles the “subtle shifts” of poverty taking place in Clark County, the county of which

Jesus, the Prophet of Mud

9 min read

This is the text from a recent sermon of mine taken from John 9 where Jesus heals the blind beggar. (We used the Message version of this story which seem to capture what was going

Christ the Gathering Point (John 4)

8 min read

This is some of the text I used on Sunday. I ended up preaching a message that was pretty different in a lot of ways from what I originally prepared, but I thought I’d

Love Was the First Motion (John 1)

3 min read

At our church for Lent we’re reflection on two interrelated questions “Who is Christ?” and “What Canst Thou Say (about this Christ)?” So there’s an inner tension in these two questions: what has

Remix Culture and the Church

5 min read

During Quaker Heritage Day one of the key themes I discussed was the idea of remix culture recently written about by Lawrence Lessig in his book with the same title. ((You can download Remix for

A History That Doesn’t Aid Us

2 min read

In reviewing some of my writing on philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre in preparation for my exams I am reminded of the importance of writing (and re-writing) history. Much of our moral disagreements in today’s society

Follow-Up Materials From Quaker Heritage Day

1 min read

For now, I’d like to share the materials that were requested by those there at the Quaker Heritage Day event in Berkeley, CA this past weekend. A number of folks hoped I’d share

Births (a poem)

1 min read

I was reminded of a poem I love today while working on my Quaker Heritage Day talks. It’s written by a Canadian Quaker (and friend of mine) named Julie Robinson. The poem is found

Queries for Discernment and Seeking

1 min read

I was asked by the clerk of a committee I am on to guide worship the other day. He wanted me not to prepare a sermon but rather help prepare our hearts and minds for

Preparatory Materials for Quaker Heritage Day (Part 1)

1 min read

Heralding The New Creation: Mission as Participation in the Quaker TraditionQuaker Heritage Day: Berkeley Friends ChurchFebruary 12, 2011 Here are some quotes, Scripture, and Queries for personal preparation for our gathering together at Quaker Heritage

Heralds of Peace (Luke 10)

9 min read

This morning the big word, the word of the day for all you Pee-Wee’s Playhouse fans in the congregation, is participation. It is a word that signals collective activity, collaboration, co-operation, co-mmunity, co-laboring. A