Watching the contagion of the Christmas lights spread throughout a neighborhood is a favorite pastime for Christie and me. In every neighborhood, there is that first house that lays out their holiday display. Typically,...

Sitting down to write this note for The Spire, I am mindful that this season which we enter, for all of its scheduled festivities, can be difficult for many, myself included. We enter the...

One of the greatest gifts of being a United Methodist is our connectional nature—the way our ministries, missions, and relationships intertwine to form something stronger together than we could ever be apart. It’s a...

In our worship together, we have touched several times on the two-sided nature of growing in faith. We have talked about the mysterious working of God in our lives. Sometimes, certain qualities or characteristics...

I am discovering already that Christ UMC is gifted with many creative souls in our congregation. As much as I enjoy writing prayers and the weekly call to worship, I would like to share...

As I predicted in the last Spire article, Christie and I are even happier to be here! Most of the unpacking at the parsonage has been completed. Meanwhile, here at the church, we have...

As I write this, most of us have yet to meet. By the time you read this, It’s likely that we will have shared at least our first Sunday together. So in a sense,...

I remember like it was yesterdayUnpacking boxes,Finding Larry Murphy’s shoestucked away in the closet. I remember all the notes;The ‘nice-to-meet-ya’s.’And the food you brought—DiCarlo’s Pizza. I remember the tears, the doubts,The internal maybes.I remember...

“After his suffering he presented himself alive to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.” (Acts 1;13) ‘After his suffering…’ Don’t overlook the awesome power of ‘after.’  Don’t read so...

“Now on that same day, two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were...