Blessed are you, O Lord, Through your children, our sisters and brothers, Who performed a pageant this past Sunday; For through their courage on stage We are indeed encouraged, By their sweet voices Our souls are refreshed, By their talents and skills We are inspired, And in their joy we rejoice. Praise to you, O Lord, Who put away false dignity And…

For those of you who haven’t noticed, I’ll confess: I can be a bit grinchy during Advent. It’s an occupational hazard of the pastorate, to be honest, and I do succumb to the temptation. Yes, it’s true, I want to sing Advent hymns rather than Christmas carols… but with the exception of that most popular “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” people look…

I’ve been out sick for a few days. I’m back to work today, but too late to get a regular piece written for Contact. If you call me, you can hear my nice baritone voice on the phone – the remnants of the cold I’m getting over. I’ll use this slot to get in a quick reminder for Youth Group members and…

As part of our series on “discovering choices,” the MPC Youth Group recently spent a meeting discussing how we make our choices for Christmas shopping. For some youth, this is one of their first real budgeting and buying experiences, using money saved up from odd jobs or babysitting to try to bring joy to their family and friends. We watched a fun…