Seeking a Different Way

Published in the Loudoun Times-Mirror January 9, 2013
Epiphany (Jan 6th) in the Christian calendar and the story of the visit of ‘The Magi’ to Bethlehem invite us back into the real world from the romanticized and sentimentalized pageantries of Christmas. As you read the whole story in Matthew 2:1-18 – and the [...]

Hateful speech about holiday displays

The following letter was published December 3rd in the Leesburg Today, on behalf of members of St. James.
The remarks of Supervisor Ken Reid (R-Leesburg) reported in the Washington Times (Nov 26, 2012) call for a response from faith communities in Loudoun County. An effort to give all residents equal access to the courthouse grounds has [...]

“Hi Neighbor, I don’t like you the way you are.”

“Hi Neighbor, you have a nice display of lights,” the anonymous note begins. “This love note explains how that pagan tradition began.”
The unsolicited lecture “love note” was distributed to residents of a Michigan neighborhood:
For thousands of years, Sun-worshippers have celebrated the Sungod’s rebirth after Solstice. Pagans honored the birth of the “invincible sun” with a [...]

A Transcending Reason of the Season

‘Cultural Christmas’ comes to an abrupt halt on December 25th – when some say real and authentic Christmas begins to celebrate the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. But if we take note of its history, what is presumed to be ‘real and authentic’ is clearly part of a ‘cultural’ reality, one forcing us to [...]

So, you think Christmas should be about Christ?

(The image at left is of a sticker distributed by the American Family Association to express protest when a business uses the phrase “Holidays” instead of “Christmas.”)
As we watch the charming annual tradition of fellow citizens trading insults over their respective displays on the Leesburg courthouse lawn, and how we choose to greet others during [...]

“Gandhi is in hell? Really?”

This has apparently caused quite a stir in the evangelical community (not exactly sure what that is anymore, but that’s what the buzz says), and no one has even seen the book yet:

Well, come to think of it, according to this New York Times article it “has created an uproar among evangelical leaders” – my [...]

God looks for love, mercy and justice – not religion

Published in the Loudoun Times-Mirror, November 23, 2010
Near the end of a church year Christians inevitably hear Bible readings about a day of judgment and what some call “the end times” – and that means different things to different people.
Luke 21:6 portrays the disciples of Jesus marveling at the magnificence of the temple in Jerusalem [...]

Lamentations over religious bigotry

Published in the Loudoun Times-Mirror, August 11, 2010
As St. James United Church of Christ in Lovettsville, we take seriously a tradition naming Jesus as Christ – as well as taking seriously the biblical tradition and contexts in which that term evolved. So in describing our faith community, we have said that “worship involves a dialogue [...]

Moral discernment

As the mainline Protestant denomination that is out in front of the movement for full inclusion of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in the church, the UCC is often portrayed in the media as some peculiar exception to “what Christians think” – or ignored altogether. So I thought this development was an encouraging sign:
It [...]

Equality and justice for all

Published in the Loudoun Times-Mirror, June 17, 2010
In a few weeks, we’ll celebrate the Fourth of July and recall a Declaration of Independence that says, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all [people] are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, [and] that among these are Life, [...]

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