Advent Greetings,
This Sunday, 12/15, we’ll hold our annual Nativity Pageant during worship. There will be a plethora of small sheep and angels, six-month-old Alexander will play Baby Jesus, and Derry Allen will engineer the Christmas Star. Any visiting children are welcome to participate—just arrive by 9:15, when we’ll distribute costumes and hold the one rehearsal of our “no rehearse” pageant.
As I preached last Sunday, the Nativity Story is not a “feel-good narrative about rosy cheeked infants
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Pastor's Page
I invite you to read my bi-weekly newsletters below for reflections on Sunday worship and updates on congregational life. I hope, and believe, you will also enjoy my Sermons. I look forward to seeing you and sharing worship with you.
- Blessings,
Pastor Ellen
Please call or e-mail to schedule time with Pastor Ellen:
M, W, Th: Appointments and visits
Tuesday: Day off
Friday: Sermon and study day
Here are some spiritual resources that I find myself returning to time and again. I hope you will also enjoy them.
UCC Feed Your Spirit
Bite in the Apple
Patheos.com
The Listening Hermit
RickMorley.com
Larry Patten.com
From Rev. Ellen Jennings
Happy Thanksgiving!
This year, we’ll have barely finished our turkey (or tofurkey) when the Season of Advent begins. While I’m always a bit overwhelmed when the First Sunday of Advent comes right after Thanksgiving, this connection provides a wonderful opportunity for us to pair the themes of gratitude and awaiting.
I’ve preached many times about the importance of implementing a gratitude practice. Whether you name 1 or 10 things a day for which you are grateful, a focus
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From Rev. Ellen Jennings
Happy Birthday to Me,
Yup, today is my birthday. And, northerner that I am, I’m pretty happy about the current arctic cold front (sorry, not sorry!). In any case, for those wondering, I’m now 56— which I’m pretty sure is the far side of middle age. Seasons change and so do people, and birthdays are a good time to stop and think about it. Here are three questions posed by Krista O’Reilly-Davi-Digui, creator of 52 Mondays, a wonderful
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From Rev. Ellen Jennings
Happy Halloween and Go Nats!
While not a baseball watcher, I’m delighted our home team won the World Series! And, I hope you Watch Party revelers got some sleep. Happily, you’ll get an extra hour this Saturday night, so remember to set back your clocks!
Sadly, it appears rain may dampen the costumes (if not spirits) of this evening’s Trick or Treaters. However, this is only the first of three linked holidays: Halloween (All Hallows Eve), All Saints
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From Rev. Ellen Jennings
Fall Greetings,
Last Sunday I preached about a psychological truth called the “negativity bias.” In short, the human brain has evolved over millennia to pay extra attention to bad things in order to stay alive. And, this evolution made perfect sense in a prehistoric setting where humans had spears and Saber Tooth Tigers had, well… saber teeth!
However, our tendency toward the negative no longer serves. Rather, in the 21st century we humans spend excessive periods of time in
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