I'm moving my newsletter to Tuesday and Thursday for awhile. Today's entry is by Andrew Wendkith. Subscribe to his substack here. I would call today's essay "Blessed are the Doers." So much of creating community is about the little things we do together. I loved this message as soon as I read it. I can picture the church dishwasher, the group that takes out the trash, the Thursday craft group cleaning out the kitchen cupboards in Rindge. It is resistance to keep doing those ordinary things as...
about 19 hours ago • 4 min read
I will turn in the draft for my book Poverty, Wealthy, and Christian Life: A Lenten Study today, hopefully by 5 pm. It is for Upper Room Books, coming out for Lent 2026. The idea to spend Lent considering material poverty, and wealth, is not typical and yet the Lenten readings are so easily adaptable to the topic. So I've been writing for months on this idea that the poor will always be with you. And yet today, when thinking about the resistance, this entirely different take on the text came...
4 days ago • 3 min read
My childhood church sponsored Vietnamese refugees coming to the United States. I remember the time, the language challenges, the cultural shocks. Also, an amazing dinner they refugees prepared for the volunteers. We moved out of the area before the work was done, but it sticks in my memory as something that Churches do. Immigrants #2 Sanctuary We looked at some easier ways to help immigrants, and we’ll look at some middling ideas. Today I want to suggest your congregation can risk it all to...
7 days ago • 3 min read
My congregation just did a furniture drive for immigrants in our area. We gathered much more stuff than we expected, and then the shelter had a flood and things couldn't be delivered! There is always something that makes a project a little harder than you expect. And yet it feels good to have begun. Immigrants #1 "When I was a stranger you welcomed me." This simple line in Matthew 25:35 sums up our Christian responsibility for immigrants in our community. Hundreds of texts throughout the...
9 days ago • 3 min read
I love to travel. At one time I took every opportunity to travel for consulting work. I still love that, but as I get older I have discovered that I also really love to be home. The familiarity of home is hard to describe. You know what's next. You know when you can sleep late. All the stuff to maintain life at home is always around you, eager to be on your to do list, but also easy to ignore. And you can always make your favorite cup of tea. In your favorite tea pot. Welcome Home In the...
11 days ago • 3 min read
I can't believe it's Friday! I've had a busy week. And of course my week is not over til Sunday. Today I offer an impossible idea. Can we replicate the early church today? I'm sure it's more than most of us can do, but it's valuable to imagine it. To think about it. To let it sit in our hearts. Care of Members 2 of 2 The earliest commentaries about Christians are critiques of their ridiculous practice of providing for one another. The Christians, the writers offer, are fools, and are being...
14 days ago • 3 min read
When I was young, I prioritized caring for others over caring for myself. Indeed it took me years to even know what I needed. Congregations are sometimes the same. Now is a good time to be sure that your members are getting the care that they need. Care for Members 1 of 2 The story of sharing in the book of Acts is about church members sharing what they have with each other. It is not as much mission as it is sharing. The church will later become involved in providing for the wider community,...
16 days ago • 3 min read
I spent this weekend quilting with a friend. Sometimes the only sign of hope is the people you can be with and do ordinary things. I working on series on how to deal with immigration, and care for immigrants. If your church is working on this, I'd love to hear what you are doing. From the tiny to the dramatic, what's going on? Just reply to this email to let me know. Come to the Waters with Hope Hear, everyone who thirsts; come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat!...
18 days ago • 3 min read
I serve two congregations that have resolved their financial issues, but still need to ask how much energy they have to be church. With the money, you either have enough, or you don't. With energy, it is hard to say. Maybe I don't want to lead, but I'm willing to follow. And yet, is there someone to lead? Sometimes church is done because we just have enough energy to keep going. Heading to Jerusalem I wrote an article for Congregations Magazine (Alban Institute) called Journey to Jerusalem....
23 days ago • 3 min read