Reflection: Servant Leadership
Servant Leadership Servant leadership, as modeled by Jesus, is a powerful approach to leadership that focuses on humility, service, and empowering others. Jesus taught, “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant” (Matthew 20:26). In this, Jesus flips the typical model of leadership on its head; true greatness is found not in power but in service. For Christians, this call invites us to lead from a place of humility and love, putting the needs of others
Savannah Abbott, Reflection #1
For the first 27 years of my life, I could not identify God and I felt alone. In elementary school, I was bullied. I learned at an early age that I would embrace the golden rule we all learned growing up;"treat others the way you want to be treated". In middle school, the bullying got worse and the abuse I suffered became physical. I always told the truth of what was done to me, the people I called
Deacon Karen Klemens Reflection #1
I love the sea. The sea is prayer for me. Just a few weeks ago, I was blessed to spend a week on Whidbey Island , Washington with my son Taylr. It was such a delight in so many ways. God’s majesty, glory and creativity were on full display - being poured out again and again in the endless ebb and flow of the ocean’s tide. The power of the sea draws me into the eternality of the
Rev. Michael Lessard Reflection #1
The present political, economic, moral and healthcare turmoil is not new. It reveals the fragile and conflicted reality of human nature. It points to the “present darkness” that resists the light of love and truth. In Ephesians (6: 10-19) St. Paul's admonition is for the Christians to prepare for battle with the weapons, both defensive and offensive to counter the cultural and spiritual opposition to the Gospel. He reminds us that when we let the world set the moral
Kevin McGloin’s Reflection #1
Gratitude I had the opportunity to work with a person over 30 years ago, who, when you asked how he was doing, would always state: “Never Better!” I got to know this person very well and I knew he was not always feeling: “Never Better!” He had constant physical pain. At times it would get the best of him, but, he would never let on. His response was always: “Never Better!” I found this individual to be a
Deacon Cheryl Armstrong’s Reflection #1
The Lord is Good One of my favorite books of the Bible is the Psalms. I can usually find one that fits any circumstance, need or mood of the moment. The Psalms are written like a songbook for God’s people to bring us into the presence of the One who created us and loves us. In it we find words of wisdom, lessons in history, songs of praise and thanksgiving, and heart cries of lament to the Lord.
Pastor Mark’s Reflection #1
Let Peace Begin with Me When I was a child one of my favorite books was entitled The Sky is Falling. It is a story most of us read as young children where a little chicken named Henny-Penny brings a world to a panic when he runs throughout the world saying “The Sky is Falling, The Sky is Falling”. This story has been part of American folk tales for centuries as a lesson to show how panic can
Fr. Dale’s Reflection #15
Four months ago, when I started to write these reflections, I never anticipated we would be where we are today. I did not think COVID-19 would be dominating our lives, riots would be happening around the country, and a dark cloud would appear over our nation. But, as of today, that is our reality.For now, this will be the last weekly reflection in this "series." I will continue to write some reflections periodically. I am grateful you have taken
Fr. Dale’s Reflection #14
How will we remember 2020? The truth is, it has not been a good year. As soon as I think about what has happened this year, I begin to shake my head. It has been a WOW! Year. And, not a good WOW! For me personally, I think about: (1) the death of my good friend Fr. Jack; (2) first Mother's Day without my mom; (3) coronavirus pandemic; (4) the economic collapse; (5) the incredibly high unemployment; (6)
Fr. Dale’s Reflection #13
I was about 40 years old before I shot a gun for the first time. . I was a candidate in the FBI Citizens Academy. Former Governor Rose Mofford (a fellow candidate) and I went to the FBI shooting range and experienced shooting an old fashioned tommy gun as well as other FBI weapons. I never considered owning a gun because they always scared me. The second time I held a gun was when I had to disarm
Fr. Dale’s Reflection #12
Please allow me to share something I read recently. It may be a little long, but please take a moment to read it. It was written by a preacher in the 1950s named A.W. Tozer. "It is literally true that some churches are dead. The Holy Spirit has gone out of them and all you have left are the remains. You have the potential of church, but you do not have the church, just as you have in
Fr. Dale’s Reflection #11
I want to talk about the concept of fairness. The dictionary describes fairness as "impartial and just treatment without favoritism or partiality." I remember as a kid being very aware of fairness. Any time my sister or brother got something more than I did, I was quick to remind my folks that it "wasn't fair." That never went very well with my parents. As I got older, I expected that teachers, employers, church leaders, and prosecutors would be
Fr. Dale’s Reflection #10
English is an odd language. It includes many words from some of the Romance languages, but it is not a Romance language. English is considered a Germanic language. The sounds of our language are not as harsh as German, but they are not as beautiful, poetic, or musical as Spanish, Italian, or French. In English, some words sound ugly. For instance, the word "regurgitate." There is no way to make it sound pleasant. To me, COVID sounds just
Fr. Dale’s Reflection #9
First off, I must tell you, I never expected to be writing these reflections nine weeks into this pandemic. Somehow, in my mind, I thought it would go for a month or so and we would have a handle on it. Here we are over two months later, and we still do not have a handle. In fact, in some ways, we do not even seem to have a clue as to how to defeat this virus. It
Fr. Dale’s Reflection #8
I am my mother's kid. Like my mom, I love shopping. I particularly like shopping at Macy's. The truth is I can wake up on a day off, throw on some clothes, and walk to Macy's within five minutes. Being able to walk through the store, stop at the in-store Starbucks, and hunt for bargains, are some of the things I miss the most during this shut down. The other evening, I went out for a walk. I
Fr. Dale’s Reflection #7
Winston Churchill once said, "If you are going through hell, keep going." Great advice! If you are going through tough times, do not stop to think about how hard it is. Keep your head up and keep moving forward. If you stop and feel sorry for yourself or turn yourself into a victim, you just prolong the ordeal. Churchill was a great leader and a wise man. His words from World War II provide wisdom for us today
Fr. Dale’s Reflection #6
Patience is defined as “the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting upset or angry.” As Dr. Phil would say, “How’s that working for you?” There is no doubt the coronavirus is testing all of us. Our tolerance for not being able to do what we want, when we want, is coming to the limit. We miss our family, friends, church, stores, and entertainment. These past weeks have been hard on everyone. Add in
Fr. Dale’s Reflection #5
I heard a great quote recently. The speaker said, The message of Christ is not Christianity. The message of Christ, is Christ. In other words, Jesus did not come to make us more religious, he came so we might embrace Him. On this Easter Monday, I call you to embrace Jesus. I am not calling myself or you to be a better person or a better Christian in the eyes of the world, I call you to proclaim
Fr. Dale’s Reflection #4
There is a great song on Christian radio by Matthew West called "The God Who Stays". The words of the song say: You’re the God who stays You’re the one who runs in my direction. When the whole world walks away, You’re the God who stands With wide open arms, And tell me nothing I have ever done Can separate my heart from the God who stays. Life is so interesting. When life gets tough and difficult, there
Fr. Dale’s Reflection #3
These days have been hard for me. Being alone in my condo takes me back 15 years when I was in complete isolation from family, friends, and the church I loved so deeply. It felt like a punishment back then. And, in some ways, it feels like a punishment now. It almost seems like our whole society has been given a great big time out. Our current situation makes me miss our community, our worship, and our precious
Fr. Dale’s Reflection #2
One of the songs we are going to sing this weekend on our Live Stream is “We Believe” by the Newsboys. The song begins with these words: "In this time of desperation, When all we know is doubt and fear, There is only one foundation, We believe, we believe In this broken generation When all is dark, you help us see There is only one salvation We believe, we believe." I am sure a lot of us feel those
Fr. Dale’s Reflection #1
We are in uncomfortable times. I think it is especially hard on us because we treat comfort as a god. Everything about our society speaks of being comfortable and not experiencing pain or discomfort. We do not like anything that makes us feel like we are not in control. Inconvenience is something we "avoid like the plague." And yet, here we are today, in 2020, with our modern medicine and technology, incredibly inconvenienced, very uncomfortable, and feeling fearful