To Belong or Not to Belong
If I had a do-over on this morning’s sermon title, I’d choose Not All Belonging is Salve. That profound truth comes from NYTimes bestselling author of Black Liturgies, Cole Arthur Riley who wrote:
"I'm beginning to think alienation and rejection are the two great persuaders of our own unloveliness.
Your Presence is Your Gift
Today is the first of December. I haven’t even opened the first door on my Advent calendar of tea–one of many secular ways of counting down toward Christmas. And we’ve only just lit the first Advent candle on this the first Sunday of Advent–a more religious means of tracking the days until to Christmas. And I’m already grumpy.
Arriving at Our Own Door
“All kinds of people, round that table.”
And one of them is you. One of them is me. One of them is each of us. So I’m channeling my inner flight attendant this morning, to urge you to Be sure to secure your own [oxygen] mask before assisting others.