Am I? Are we? Changed? Was it really a declaration this year? I want it to be more than a lyric. I want it to be a truth, an action.

Can you remember being in high school, feeling invisible and ineffective, and hearing a teacher or a coach or a parent validate your work? I do. Encouraging words resonate.

I spent some Saturday evenings in a church where the final worship service of every year is an “open mic” event.

The shepherds were left in the dark. No instructions. No commandments. It was a write-your-own script moment.

I want these questions to be part of our prayer as we move toward Thanksgiving and Advent. Should we look different? Is there a way the world can see our joy?

I heard Pastor Hannah, in a late September message, remind us that “we are ambassadors of Christ.” I heard her say “Christ is making his appeal through us.”

I admit I often neglect the places where we spend 40 or more hours each week. I don’t often pray into our work lives and workplaces.

On August 6, as the sun sets at 8:30pm, from wherever you are, with whomever wants to join you, let’s pray together for our children, our youth, and their leaders.

How do we pray for our nation? What scripture can guide us through a time when our challenges seem so immense?

Let’s bend the rules this month. Let’s not wait until the first Sunday, as is our tradition, to lift our next sunset prayer.

As Jesus stops for the children, isn’t he answering the prayers of their parents? Isn’t he saying, “I know the challenges you’re facing, and I want to be part of your walk as a parent”?

When I heard Pastor Hannah was planning a Lenten series on humility, I shrugged. Honestly, where’s the electricity in humility?

A year ago, before we replaced the carpeting in the Sunday school rooms, I drew a chalk line across the classroom floor. I then shared the story of Jesus healing 10 men from Samaria.

Do you have a dream?

As a church family, we spent our walk toward Christmas embracing Pastor Hannah’s call to “Expect the Unexpected” as we re-visited the Christmas story.

There are no walls.

I love David’s Thanksgiving. I share the story in Children’s Church every year.

I’ve heard the term “rally day” whispered over the years at Sewickley United Methodist. I liked the sound of it, but I never knew exactly what it meant. In my previous church associations, we never rallied.