by Stuart Strachan Jr. | Mar 15, 2019 | Uncategorized
I know we are already underway in Lent, but I want to share a devotional resource that might be helpful to you in this season. The Title is The Art of Lent by Sister Wendy Beckett. If you are not a secret art history fan such as myself, her name might not be familiar...
by Stuart Strachan Jr. | Feb 26, 2019 | Sermon Illustrations, Uncategorized
In their excellent book, Mending the Divides, Jon Huckins and Jer Swigart describe a Japanese Pottery tradition that articulates the power of peace and reconciliation: When we speak of peace, we can call to mind the ancient Japanese pottery tradition called Kintsugi....
by Stuart Strachan Jr. | Dec 26, 2018 | Uncategorized
Why do we make Resolutions at the Start of a New Year? Take the prevalence of New Year’s resolutions. The Wharton professor Katherine Milkman said she found it striking that “at the start of a new year, we feel like we have a clean slate. It’s the ‘fresh start effect’...
by Stuart Strachan Jr. | Oct 24, 2018 | Uncategorized, Worship
October 2018 For centuries, the Psalms have been the songbook of the church. From metrical settings of Psalms (think, “Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow” or “The Lord’s My Shepherd, I’ll Not Want) to use in liturgical settings (the Venite for one), or chanted or...
by Stuart Strachan Jr. | Aug 14, 2018 | Uncategorized
Changing Direction There was a story going around about the Special Olympics. For the hundred-yard dash, there were nine contestants, all of them so-called physically or mentally disabled. All nine of them assembled at the starting line and, at the sound of the gun,...
by Stuart Strachan Jr. | Jul 17, 2018 | Uncategorized
Just Charge It! I recently attended an event sponsored by Compassion International, the International Child Sponsorship Organization. The event was called “Stepping into My Shoes”. The purpose being to show children in America what it is like living in a third-world...
