Moderator's Memos

Giving Season

“For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.”  (Matthew 25: 35-36, NRSV)
 
We get lots of opportunities to live out these words of Jesus as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew,

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Time, Talent, and Treasure – this old adage, rooted in scripture, came to me as I was reflecting on this past year in the life of our church. What an abundance of riches we have in the time and talent of each of you in our church community. This time and talent enables us to live out our mission to nurture love of God and love of neighbor in the world.
 
I also was reminded of the treasure we

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Trivia question for today: What do October, pumpkins, Cleveland Park Church, and Phantom of the Opera have in common?
 
Need a clue?
 
It’s our first ever – and possibly budding annual? – Pumpkin Fest on Saturday, October 26, at 4 pm.
 
Bring the family, bring your friends and neighbors, or simply bring yourself and join us for this fun, entertaining, and maybe even spooky afternoon delight.
 
We’ll have poetry (selections from The Raven and more) and

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Finding Balance
 
I am writing this Moderator’s Memo on the cusp of the Autumnal Equinox, one of the two days of the year when the hours of light and dark are almost equal (I’ll explain use of the word “almost” in a bit). As you read this, we will have made the passage from astronomical summer to fall.
 
For those of us who particularly love summer, this passage to shorter days, longer nights, and colder temperatures brings with

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Silence, Gratitude, and Praise

I usually sit down to write my Moderator’s Memo on Sunday evening and then finish it up on Monday evening. This week was no different and I was reflecting on Pastor Ellen’s sermon about “Why Church?” and, in particular, “Why OUR Church?”. For me, it was a rather logical extension from my last Moderator’s Memo on Being Grateful.

But then Monday morning Pastor Ellen shared this post from the Clergy Coaching Network on our Cleveland Park

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