As we stare down these first two weeks of February we will be bombarded with the deep reds and bright pinks of St. Valentine’s Day.

From the commandments given to us at Mount Sinai, to Psalm 23 when the Lord, “makes us rest beside still waters” to Jesus’ leaving the crowds to go and pray, God’s longing for rest for all creation is demonstrated again and again and again.

Advent is upon us and as always, our community will have the opportunity to reflect, dwell and prepare for the Christmas season as we wait for the birth of Christ together.

It is a bit of a cliché to talk about gratitude during the month of November, but cliché or not, I find the annual rhythm of pausing and reflecting on what I am thankful for a helpful discipline in a social landscape…

As most of you know, I have chosen a career field that is based on taking care of people – healthcare. I have worked in various areas of the field over the years – EMT, 911 Dispatcher, Paramedic, Nurse, and Nurse Practitioner…

Picture used from Finn and the Bell - Rumble Strip original posting.

https://www.rumblestripvermont.com/episodes/422

People of Minneola, thank you. Thank you for trusting God, yourselves, and the call to sabbath that led to our shared Sabbatical Season. In the coming months the lessons, sorrows and joys

As April begins, we find ourselves two months out from our first experience of Sabbatical as a community of faith.

Here’s a flashback to December 2018…Every year as Thanksgiving ends and Advent begins, I have the best of intentions. I promise myself, this year will be different and I recently ran across a Facebook post that beautifully articulated my annual Advent resolution.

It is with thanksgiving and expectation we, your 2022 Council, write this month. Fall has brought many to worship, with our attendance averaging close to 40 each week.

There is something about the fall season that triggers a great deal of anxiety within me. I am sure it is a mix of the new school year,

Ever wonder what the larger story the Bible tells? Or who God of the Bible is?

Somehow, we have come to the end of our summer months and worship, and I, like many of you, am in awe of how fast summer 2022 went as well as a bit overwhelmed by the calendar…

Healing. The SEMN Synod focused on healing this first synod assembly in two years due to the pandemic.

Nothing has been easy about these last few years, nor these months as we rediscover our work together.

The pandemic has been tough on everyone.

Questions are a normal aspect of daily life. I will admit having two, entirely too curious, seven year olds has driven this truth home, but questions, regardless of our age swirl around us and perhaps nowhere more accutely than in our faith life…

Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.