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Posts by Ben Daniel

From the Pastor’s Pen

Friends, It is wonderful to be part of a community of faith that is so active. Sometimes I can’t keep track of everything that is going on in the life of Montclair Presbyterian church and I wouldn’t want it to be otherwise. In my experience a busy congregation is a happy and vibrant congregation. One thing that is keeping us busy is…

Reflection on Lent

Guest Writer Lynn Viale Our Lenten disciplines can help us become more like Christ.   Here’s a marker to see if we’re growing.  Are we growing in love?  Love of God, love of each other, love of ourselves.   Everything we do in our lives can move us toward living out the great commandment – love the Lord our God with all our heart,…

From the Pastor’s Pen

Friends, In the last few months, something amazing has happened at Montclair Presbyterian Church. Starting in November, our attendance in weekly celebration has been the same as or a little higher than attendance on the corresponding Sundays before the pandemic. This is phenomenal. Even without the challenges COVID presented to us, I would have expected our attendance numbers to be a bit…

From the Pastor’s Pen

Friends, During Lent this year I am going to be leading a class that I’ve long wanted to facilitate, but for some reason have never quite made happen. The class will be a primer on how to read the Bible out loud. This class is important for three reasons. First, for the most part, the Bible was written to be read out…

From the Pastor’s Pen

Friends, When I was four years old, my family moved from Los Altos Mendocino–and, specifically, to Furytown, one of Mendocino’s two historically Portuguese neighborhoods. I don’t think we lasted more than a year in Furytown before we moved to the hills above Little River, where I did most of my growing up, but while in Furytown I learned to identify and to…

From the Pastor’s Pen

Friends, I spent this last weekend at Mission San Antonio in the Santa Lucia mountains with a group of 18 MPC folk. It was wonderful—the last in a series of four seasonal retreats in a place I have loved since childhood, that has haunted my dreams for a couple of decades now. I’ve been wanting to do a series of seasonal retreats…

From the Pastor’s Pen

Friends, During the nine years I have lived in Oakland and worked as a pastor at Montclair Presbyterian Church I have felt a little bit lonely for ecumenical friendships. In my prior churches I had good friendships with the pastors who served the churches near mine, but here in Oakland that hasn’t really happened for me. I know a Scott Denman up…

From the Pastor’s Pen

Friends, I hope you will take some time while reading this week’s Contact to make note of the information on our Winter weekend retreat at Mission San Antonio in the Santa Lucia Mountains. So far, these seasonal retreats have been profoundly moving for me. The ability to revisit the same sacred place in the heat of summer and in the transitional weather…

FROM THE PASTOR’S PEN

Friends, For years I have dreamed of taking a group of folks on a series of four retreats—one for each season—to a place called Mission San Antonio de Padua. The mission itself dates back to 1771, and was founded by Junípero Serra in the Mountains between the Salinas Valley and Big Sur on the land of the Xolon Salinan people. I wanted…

FROM THE PASTOR’S PEN

Friends, On Labor Day I decided to make Baba Ghanoush. I realize this isn’t traditional Labor Day fare, but on Thursday of last week I’d enjoyed an extraordinarily tasty plate of the lovely Middle Eastern eggplant-based dip while sharing a wonderful meal with dear friends, and so, when on Saturday a neighbor stopped by with three eggplants for me, I decided it…