In my sermon this week I talked about stained glass blinders, which seems to have struck a chord with many of you. It seems most of us have these blinders near at hand, even if we manage to take them off sometimes. It’s almost impossible not to have them. Stained glass blinders are those things which surround your vision at church, casting…

Often I like to surprise people in church, by introducing a new prayer or song on the spot. I usually don’t give advance notice of what might be different from “normal” – although normal, at MPC, certainly covers a wide range! If you ask any Youth Group member, they know the answer to “what are we doing next week?” is nearly always…

I feel lucky since I had two opportunities to celebrate All Saint’s Day at our ofrenda in the sanctuary. Once was in the morning with the adults of the congregation. It was bright, sunny, and even fun, especially when I spent time with the youngest children who were irresistibly drawn to the candles on the table. I hope that with a few…

Friday through Sunday was a whirlwind of activity with the youth on our annual Fall Retreat at Cazadero. Four amazing advisors joined me to lead it, and each of us had borrowed or rented a minivan to drive up, chock-full of teenagers, music, and excitement. The retreat was scary. From the drive up in the dark, with the teen girls in my…

A pictoral essay on all the various directions I’m going Thursday, Oct 16th: I attended a great conference at San Francisco Theological Seminary, focusing on games and innovation in ministry. In an “innovation lab” my group developed and pitched an idea for “The Listening Campaign,” with the tagline: Because your story needs to be heard. This has inspired me to spend more…