While I was on the 7 hour flight from Ireland back to Virginia, I had plenty of time to watch movies, including some Irish made movies. One of the movies I watched was called Belfast. It was the story of one family’s struggle to stay neutral and compassionate to their neighbors, both Protestant and CatholicContinue reading “Proper 10 2022”
Tag Archives: Mercy
4 Lent 2022
Parables are wonderful because no matter where we are spiritually, there is usually a character in the story with whom we can connect, but to be true to the story we need to put it in context. Imagine for a moment Jesus has been teaching for several months near the Sea of Galilee and largeContinue reading “4 Lent 2022”
3 Lent 2022
The story of Moses and the nation of Israel under his oversite is an essential part of our spiritual history, our spiritual ancestry. I can only hit the highlights in an effort to illuminate our New Testament readings, but I hope it will make you curious enough to read more on your own. When weContinue reading “3 Lent 2022”
5 Lent 2021
Wednesday night, during our CS Lewis study, we talked about “tokens” or symbols and some ways we use them and how powerful they can be. I was in Food Lion the other day and the man behind me noticed the cross around the neck of the woman behind him and immediately started asking her whereContinue reading “5 Lent 2021”
4 Lent 2021
When I had a houseful of kids, if something went missing or got broken there were plenty of possible suspects and of course no one ever wanted to confess to being the guilty one. Now that I live alone, there is no one but myself to blame and when something goes missing, I know whoContinue reading “4 Lent 2021”
Lent 1 2021
Symbols can be powerful things. They can tell you at a glance a lot about a person who uses them. They can cause people to suddenly smile, or become angry. But I don’t think any symbol has been adopted by more groups of people and used to mean such a wide variety of things asContinue reading “Lent 1 2021”
3 Epiphany 2021
This morning, we continue the theme of “call” that we began last week. It is an important theme for Epiphany which is the time we celebrate God’s word being extended to the Gentiles. I think it is important to identify what it means to be called or chosen. I often hear the concept of beingContinue reading “3 Epiphany 2021”
Easter Vigil 2020
An interesting difference between first century Jewish culture and 21st century Americans is our concept of the day. In the story of the creation we are told “And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.” (Genesis 1:5b). In the Jewish culture, even today for those who strictly observe the Sabbath, the newContinue reading “Easter Vigil 2020”
The Rev. Beverly Patterson 