Maybe this will be my last post regarding the Occupy movement. It all depends on what else happens. Two events have influenced my thinking since the last time I wrote something. The first event was participating in an “Occupy” simulation game with our youth group. Each person was assigned a character and there were 3 main groups – the occupiers, the government…

As the Occupy movement continues in various ways throughout the country, Occupy Oakland continues to be fraught with difficulties. Mayor Jean Quan again issued an order for the occupiers to leave as of last Friday, November 11. The night before, in the middle of rush hour, a man was shot and killed on the street by a man apparently living in the…

Several different events have occurred in the past couple of weeks that have been centered around how well or ill prepared we are for our own deaths. Last weekend in worship we remembered the Oakland Hills fire in which many of our members lost their homes and all of their possessions and in which many people in the community lost their lives.…

Do you remember being a teenager? It seems adults fall into two categories usually. Either we have done our best to try and forget what it was like being a teenager and leaving it all in the past or we spend too much time trying to re-live those days despite being many years past them. I am in the former category. When…

If you were to die suddenly tomorrow, would you be content with how you have lived your life? Are you doing what you want to be doing? Are you loving well and thoroughly the people you want to love and have you made peace with those from whom you are estranged? Are you listening for the rustlings of the Spirit and following…

The Wall Street protest has piqued my curiosity. On the one hand, I am relieved to see people finally taking to the streets to say, “Enough is enough.” On the other hand, I am not sure what is being protested other than the bleak state of our country and our economy in general. It would have made sense to me if the…

Last July I had the opportunity to spend a couple of days on the Texas coast near Mustang Island. The weather was hot and humid and the Gulf of Mexico was beautifully inviting. Fish were jumping almost constantly out of the water and a variety of birds were happily taking advantage of the active fish! One could almost forget that tragedy had…

Last week I attended a Presbytery meeting in which a good friend of mine was examined for ordination. He is an exceptional human being and one of the most gifted and called persons in terms of ministry. He has had to wait twice as long as usual to be ordained because he is gay. Fortunately, he was approved with very few people…

How many times have you heard it said that we really find out who we are in the midst of a crisis? People you think might be calm, cool and collected become frantic and anxious and absolutely no help whatsoever. Conversely, people who are normally anxious and tightly wound become more calm and rational in the midst of crisis. The point is…

As much as I try to live without fear of what could happen, there are also times when I think fear is absolutely appropriate if it results in living differently. Sometimes fear is the perfect motivator and the best weapon to use against apathy. If you are not afraid of what is going on in our country, let me give you some…