Christians often quote scripture to give their decisions a sort of godly approval. While there is nothing inherently wrong in this, we must be very cautious, when it is so easy to accidentally misuse Scripture. When that happens, one is misinterpreting God’s word to support what they want to do, when he or she would…
I lament that we fear those who look different from us. I lament that African-American mothers fear for the safety of their children. I lament the historic and pervasive mistreatment of people of color by the police. I lament that we are here again. I lament that we so completely fail to love our neighbors…
Starting shortly after the Civil War, Memorial Day has been a day to honor the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. We just observed Memorial Day 2020 on Monday, May 25th. While many families set some time aside on Memorial Day to visit the graves of loved ones, there is…
Dogs shed hair. It’s a fact of life. They can’t help it. Much to the dismay of allergy sufferers, plants and trees shed pollen—especially this time of year. People shed too. What we shed, however, is the question. In this time of staying at home due to COVID-19, we may think of shedding disease. Everywhere…
While many churches recognize Good Friday and Maundy Thursday, an ancient tradition dating back to the early Church has been largely lost. That is, “The Great Three Days”. The Great Three Days are the holiest of times in the Christian calendar and could even be considered the point from which the rest of the year…
(written by Christina Embree on behalf of the Asbury Theological Seminary Staff Council; reposted from the Asbury Seminary website) I’ll never forget my first experience with Lent. I grew up in a home where we didn’t really celebrate Lent. I had never experienced an Ash Wednesday service and had no idea that entire swaths of Christendom…
Epworth will celebrate Ash Wednesday on February 26th, with a brief service at 7:00 pm. Ash Wednesday is an ancient tradition of the Christian Church, likely dating back to the 1st or 2nd century, but not formally recognized until the Council of Nicaea in 325 CE. Of course, the growth in recognition of…
Epworth had its beginning on Superbowl Sunday, 1999. As a result, we consider Superbowl Sunday as our unofficial anniversary. This year it was also Groundhog Day and Candlemas, which is also known as the Feast of the Presentation of our Lord. Forty days after His birth, Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the temple for…
The day after Thanksgiving yields a joy of three parts. The first joy is that of an introvert newly restored to peace and quiet after the raucous hubbub of last night’s family dinner. The second is the simple pleasure of pie for breakfast. The third joy is the renewal of my annual re-reading of The…
On Sunday, January 5th, Epworth celebrated the revealing of the Messiah to the world, which is generally associated with the arrival of the 3 wise men, or Jesus’ baptism. Not only did the service remind the congregation of these events, and their importance to us today, but immediately following the service was a lunch,…