Tag: Church
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Leaning into Liminality
On 8 May 2023 I completed my term as President of the Synod of Albany, and as part of that, I presented the annual State of Religion report. While such a thing generally doesn’t sound that interesting, the response from it has been positive, so I thought I would share it. Grace to you and…
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On the Weekly Celebration of the Eucharist
Proclamation of the Gospel through preaching is incomplete without the celebration of the Holy Supper. It is like a tune that doesn’t resolve. It feels unfinished, incomplete. When I was growing up, we celebrated the Holy Supper (Lord’s Supper, Communion, Eucharist) once a quarter. That was the minimum required in the church order and I…
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To Be Leaven For the Future
He told them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.’ Matthew 13:33, NRSV The restoration of the church will surely come from a sort of new monasticism which has in common with the old only the…
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My Ecumenical Manifesto and a Plea to the Reformed Church in America
‘I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory…
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Digressions in Church Polity: There are no members of the Reformed Church in America
For anyone familiar with my ecclesiastical communion, the Reformed Church in America, or anyone who has read my writing elsewhere as of late, perhaps you are aware of the struggles that our communion is facing regarding differing understandings of human sexuality. However, the real issues are much deeper, the real issues are the things below…
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The tension of the green season
Sunday begins the long season after Pentecost with the green liturgical color. As a young child, I remember that we called it “the growing season.” Which fits both with the color and with the orientation. We call this season “ordinary time,” that is, there is nothing special. No Christmas, no Easter, no Pentecost. No special…
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From Beyond the River
Joshua 24:1-28 God comes to Abram with no apparent reason, makes a promise that God will bring forth from Abram a great nation which will be blessed so that they can be a blessing to all the world. So without any recorded hesitation, Abram goes, as God told him, to the land which God will…
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Why I Welcome the Demise of Christendom
In my corner of the Evangelical Bible Belt, a few things take concern above all else. Opposing gay marriage, decrying taking God out of the schools, mourning the loss of the privileged position of the church in the United States. We fear that the church is losing ground and we fight against it in every…
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Wounds in the Body of Christ
Eendracht maakt Macht These words adorn the banner at the bottom of the crest of the Reformed Church in America. Often the translation into English is, “Unity makes strength” but, as I understand it, a better translation is “Concord makes strength” — a pulling together like a team of horses. *** The Christian church today…
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When it All Comes Together
Half-way through my sermon, I saw about one third of the congregation sleeping, another third appeared to be present in body only (somewhere else in mind), and the final third appeared to be engaged. After the service, I was told that the bathroom was out of toilet paper. It was full before the service. This,…
Matthew van Maastricht 