John 20:1-18 “The surge is coming. Be prepared–it’s going to get worse before it gets better. This is the week to not leave your home.” The warnings have been dire. For the last few weeks, we have been told to expect a surge in diagnoses of COVID-19, a surge in people needing machines to breathe […]
New Life Emerges
An Easter Devotion by Debbie Clark On this mountain our God will make for all peoplesa feast of rich food, a feast of well-matured wines,of rich food filled with marrow, of well-matured wines strained clearAnd God will destroy on this mountainthe shroud that is cast over all peoples,the sheet that is spread over all nations;God […]
A Quiet Easter
Dear friends, Trumpets! Organ! Introits! Lilies and daffodils and tulips! Easter eggs half-hidden in the pews! Throw-back bonnets! Smoky clothing from standing near the fire-pit at sunrise! A flowering cross carried in by Nils Arnheim! When I think of Easter at Edwards Church, I think of all these things. Mostly, I think about all the […]
Leaves of Healing
Jeremiah 8:21-22; Revelation 22:1-2 John was in isolation, cut off from his community. It was not a self-imposed quarantine to protect him from a deadly virus. It was exile, imposed by the Roman empire because John, as a first-century Christian, was considered a threat. The book of Revelation reflects a time of persecution–for the early […]
A Balm in Gilead
A Lenten Devotion by Debbie Clark Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has the health of my poor people not been restored? Jeremiah 8:22 During this season, the Tuesday morning Gentle Yoga class has opened each session by seeking inspiration from different kinds of trees, drawing upon the […]
Broken Branches; Shooting Stars
John 15:1-5 In the southwestern United States, there is a tree that grows where almost nothing else can: the Cottonwood. It is considered a sacred tree by Arapaho and Cheyenne peoples, in part because of its branches. If you cut a branch, you will see the shape of a star in its center. There is […]
Faith Like a Fungus
Deuteronomy 10:17-19; Ephesians 3:14-21 A few Sundays ago, in my meditation, I talked about Quaking Aspen trees– how their leaves quake in response to the slightest breeze, how they are connected through their roots. I mentioned the Pando grove in Utah, where 40,000 trees all share one root system. At the time, it seemed an […]
Important Changes in Worship
Dear Friends, What a week this has been! Every day, we have heard more news about the spread of COVID-19, and more advice about how to prevent getting sick and spreading germs to others. We have been advised to practice “social distancing.” In a community of people who care about one another and rejoice in […]
Important Changes in Worship
Dear Friends, What a week this has been! Every day, we have heard more news about the spread of COVID-19, and more advice about how to prevent getting sick and spreading germs to others. We have been advised to practice “social distancing.” In a community of people who care about one another and rejoice in […]
Forty Thousand Quaking Aspen
Jeremiah 17:17-18; Romans 12:9-18 “Look!” Fran pointed to a hillside full of trees–tall slender white-barked trunks, green-yellow leaves that seemed, from a distance, to be constantly changing color. “They’re Aspen trees,” she explained. “They’re called Quaking Aspen. See how the leaves move in the wind?” I squinted my eyes and looked more closely. That’s why […]