Like clay shaped by a potter, we are shaped by God– but only if we’re willing to be on the potter’s wheel, and willing to be changed.

God, our cosmic Host, invites us to offer hospitality to others– for they too bear God’s presence. In opening ourselves to them we receive God as well.

Ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?”

God calls us to be who God creates us to be, against the pressure of people who want us to please them. As individuals and as a church, we stand for something our neighbors may not like; but God sustains us.

God is at work in every moment. Be prepared to join with God in the work of grace. Whatever you face–daily life, a personal challenge or a global issue– God has given you all you need to live with beauty, love and courage.

Wwhen we focus our mindfulness on God, and devote ourselves singularly to the work of being vessels of God’s grace, everything else falls into place; priorities align, and we are free from the burdensome distractions of our fears, desires and attachments.

A reflection on the layers of meaning in the Lord’s Prayer.

Bethany was a place where Jesus was received, healed, loved, fed, honored, encouraged, challenged and empowered. God does that for us. Maybe that’s what the church should do for people.