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Staff Trax

Turning Toward

Dear Salem Family,

This will be my last letter to you as staff here at Salem. So, I thought I’d leave you with a challenge.

There are many changes that will be happening for Salem in the next couple of months. Change is scary. Change is hard. And turning toward what’s hard and scary and vulnerable is not usually our default choice. We often spend all kinds of time trying to avoid…

Spring Cleaning

Today, and for the next two weeks, we will be reading our Gospel text from the Gospel of John and not the Gospel of Mark. Now in John’s Gospel, things often happen in a slightly different order than in the other Gospels and our story today is one of those stories.

In the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke the story of Jesus entering the temple overturning the tables of the money…

​Tone Deaf

Over the past week I have been shocked by all of the negative social media posts aimed at the students from the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida. Many students chose to speak out against assault weapons and gun violence. They spoke their truths and shared an intimate portrait of a tragedy that no child should ever have to experience. One would think that we as a country…

A Different Way

I know I date myself when I do things like I am about to do, but how many of you remember this jingle: “Hold the pickles, hold the lettuce, special orders don’t upset us, all we ask is that you let us serve it your way. Have it your way, have it your way, at ....” Yes, at Burger King! Yes, for 40 years, Burger King promoted itself with the slogan of “Have it your way!”. That notion…

​Trusting in the Promises

I love the story in Genesis when Abraham and Sarah, in their nineties, are told that they will have a child – and they laugh! And yet, a year later they have Isaac – which, by the way, means laughter. How many stories do we have where God is trying to convince his people that they can trust in His promises? They struggled with God’s ways just as we do today. How difficult is it to trust…

Temptation to Proclamation

As we begin the season of Lent, we begin with Jesus proclaiming the most critical point that he will proclaim throughout his life and ministry, “the Kingdom of God has come near…” (1:15). In Mark, as in Matthew and Luke, “the kingdom of God” is THE announcement around which the rest of Jesus’ words and deeds will revolve. But before Jesus can make this announcement, Mark…

A Love Story

The season of Lent has officially begun. While much of the country celebrated Valentine’s Day this past Wednesday, in the church, we also celebrated Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. I know, Valentine’s Day seems like more fun, but the truth is, Valentine’s Day, a day all about love, is a great day to also celebrate Ash Wednesday.

On Ash Wednesday, we are reminded of our own…

Practice for Change

So have you been watching the Olympics? They can be addictive. Aside from hockey, though, I really don’t know anything about most of the winter sports. Although, I may know nothing about these sports, I still marvel at the abilities of those athletes. Did you see Mirai Nagasu? She is the first American female to land a triple axel in the Olympics. I get dizzy just thinking about doing…

Time to be Transformed

One of the things I don’t like about using lectionary readings is that we often read stories out of order, or begin in the middle of a story, and today is a perfect example of what I mean. Our gospel lesson today begins with the phrase “Six days later…” If you haven’t been reading the whole story from the beginning, you must be asking the question, what happened six days earlier?…

Real Reflections

Dear Salem Family,

Lent is just around the corner. Lent is a time for reflection.

Now, we are going to be in a very real place with this letter. I invite you to join me in the real. There are many changes happening for me in my personal and professional life, at this very moment. I am getting married in less than 20 days. I am looking for a job. I am going to have to make some…

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