Rev. Katie Montgomery MearsPsalm 130:1-2, 5-61 I cry out to you from the depths, Lord—2 my Lord, listen to my voice!    Let your ears pay close attention to my request for mercy!5 I hope, Lord.   My whole being hopes,    and I wait for God’s promise. 6 My whole being waits for my Lord—    more than the night watch waits for morning;    yes, more than the night watch waits for morning!Reflection:When someone tells me I’m going to have to wait on something, I go to a negative place pretty quickly. I hate inefficiency and slowness and, unfortunately, I’m a pretty awful version of myself at the DMV.  [...]

Rev. Michelle Manuel and Shelby Olive Psalm 23 (NRSV) 1 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.  2     He makes me lie down in green pastures;  he leads me beside still waters;  3     he restores my soul.  He leads me in right paths      for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley,      I fear no evil;  for you are with me;      your rod and your staff—      they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me      in the presence of my enemies;  you anoint my head with oil;      my cup overflows. 6 Surely [...]

Rev. Katie Montgomery Mears Good morning God,  It is so easy to grumble and complain about life (“it’s 2020”) but the truth is, I have so much to be grateful for. I want to change my perspective and let thankfulness be the leading edge in my life.  So on this Thanksgiving morning, I am practicing the discipline of gratitude by naming before you the blessings in my life:  The love and grace of Jesus Christ, through whom I am able to have a personal relationship with you!  A precious daughter who keeps us on our toes, and a loving [...]

Rev. Michelle Manuel Acts 2:42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Acts 2:46-47 46 Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved. Reflection: I know what I’m about to write is controversial. I know, I know, the very LAST thing we need [...]

Savannah Burch 2 Samuel 6:12-22 So David went to bring up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing. When those who were carrying the ark of the Lord had taken six steps, he sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf. Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the Lord with all his might, while he and all Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets. As the ark of the Lord was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul [...]

2 Samuel 6:12-22 So David went to bring up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing. When those who were carrying the ark of the Lord had taken six steps, he sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf. Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the Lord with all his might, while he and all Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets. As the ark of the Lord was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from [...]

Philippians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Reflection: Airplanes are a weird place to be. If you think about it, humans were not “meant” to fly. We do not have wings, and our lungs cannot handle such high altitudes on their own. Yet, we have found a way to soar through the skies. It is unnatural, however we do it frequently (less so nowadays) without much thought. Sometimes when I am on an airplane, though, I swear I can feel the 30,000 feet [...]

Suzi Pitts, Director of Communications 1 Samuel 7:12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far the Lord has helped us." Reflection: It was 1992, after just losing my mom to cancer, I was in deep grief. Right after that, our Golden Retriever, Chili, died. Now I know that the death of a dog is not a huge deal, except for you dog people—you get it. But this death on top of death was flattening. I had little kids at the time, and I felt low like [...]