Hello – From time to time I recommend a book for us to read. So far, I’ve recommended three, and each has led to good discussion. Toxic Charity helped us review how we were doing outreach. Falling Upward helped us think about wisdom for the second half of life. Sticky Faith helped us think about…

Hello – This past week saw a great final burst of activity for our ‘school year.’ Confirmations, a Baptism, a terrific Puccini mass setting sung by our choir, the Sunday School Ice Cream Buffet and an emotionally rich conclusion to over four years of hosting Young Moms Marin. Now, we shift to a slower summer…

Hello – This morning, at the reception to celebrate Samai’s Confimration and Yanelli’s Baptism, Akosua slipped and fell in the kitchen. She’s four months pregnant so we were all super cautious and called 911, who came and took her to Kasier. Felicia, Akosua’s mom, wanted me to send an email to let you know that…

Hello – The coming week has one last burst of activity before things slow down for the summer. Chronologically, the upcoming events of the week are: • Wednesday at 5:30 there will be a quarterly gathering in the Upper Room to consider our Death Row ministry to our seven brothers in North Seg. This is…

Hello – As I look back at the last month, I realized that my last three sermons crystalized three important conversations for our community. Below, I briefly sketch out what those conversations are. I hope at least one of them intrigues you. If so, all three sermons can be heard by going to the front…

10 Minutes Well Spent Hello – In case you missed it, here’s the link to this week’s short interview with the Primate of the Episcopal Church, the Most Reverend Michael Curry, on the PBS NewsHour. He’s so engaging and articulate. What he said brought tears to my eyes and made me deeply proud to be…

Hello – This Sunday is the feast of Pentecost, the annual celebration when our sacred space is draped in red and we rejoice in the birth of the Christian Church. On this Sunday, we remember that the Church was born in tongues of spiritual fire just 50 days after Jesus rose from the dead. (The…

Hello – In May, I’m going to offer three different time slots for Basic Discipleship. These are Sundays at 6pm, Thursdays at 12:30 and Saturdays at 8am. Each time slot is limited to four people. The starting dates are May 15th, 19th and 21st. In Basic Discipleship I teach how to pray and then encourage…

Hello – So far I’ve had five great small group conversations about the necessary dimensions for a rigorous church. We’ve had discussions at two Sunday Spiritual Forums and have taken time at each of our three weekly Bible Studies. The last of these planned open conversations is tomorrow night, Wednesday, at 5:30pm in the Upper…

Hello – I believe that rigorous churches will survive and thrive in our increasingly secular age. I also believe St. Paul’s is becoming a rigorous church. For over a decade, we have been gradually devoting ourselves to the core Christian practices of prayer, worship, service, generosity, learning scripture, listening for call and Discipleship Groups. That’s…