The temptation will be to treat this week as if it were like any other. But it is not. One week out of fifty-two is set aside as holy. We are in the midst of Holy Week. Holy Week recounts the story of the last week of Jesus’ earthly life. I like to think of...
Unity is involved in a lot of missions. Supporting Afghan refugees in our manse. Partnering with missionaries in England. Serving monthly meals at Hesed House— Lincoln County’s only homeless shelter. Providing food donations to the hungry through Novant Health, East Lincoln Christian Ministries, and Moms and Munchkins. Funding disaster assistance through the One Great Hour...
Sixth grade was the first time I ever questioned the Bible. Up until that point, I was immersed in a childlike faith. No questions. No hesitations. Just a full throated embrace of Christianity. I distinctly remember sitting in Sunday school at my church in Tacoma, WA, hearing the Bible lesson, and having an unwelcome thought...
One of my favorite parts of living in Denver is being near to the mountains. I took the picture in this email during one of my family’s first trips to the mountains after moving to North Carolina in 2018. I snapped this photo because of how struck I was by the many ridges I could...
The next time you’re on the church campus, take a walk along the sidewalk that leads behind the Education Building. At the far end of the building you’ll discover my favorite tree on campus. As I’m writing this on a Tuesday morning, it is fully in bloom. The light pink petals often cascade off of...
A congregation member once told me that she’d attended a Hickory Crawdads game and her section had won a prize. The whole section of the stadium was abuzz. What did they win? Free tickets to a game? A Crawdads t-shirt? A new car?! It turns out, each person in the section was given one can...
Today is Ash Wednesday. The ashes for today’s services were prepared by burning the palm branches from last year’s Palm Sunday. The distant shouts of Hosanna still ring in our memory. But for now, we make a turn. We have burned the palms and start with ash. We offer two services today— one at noon...
How often do you think of yourself as an autonomous, independent, self-made individual? We live in a society that particularly celebrates individualism. This is not necessarily bad unless it disconnects us from the community. Because God made us as relational beings who do best when we are part of a supportive community. Have you ever...
We have only two weeks left of The Story Of David series. This coming Sunday we will study his well known fall from grace. David committed both murder and adultery. We’ll explore the story more fully on Sunday, but for now, I’d like to examine the prayer he wrote to God after doing these horrific...
This past Sunday I used a quote from Oz Guinness’s book The Call: Finding And Fulfilling The Central Purpose Of Your Life. I have one more I’d like to share as I begin my weekly newsletter. “None of us arrives in this world complete, and none of us has the wisdom and strength to create...
