Happy Thanksgiving! I have something to confess. Though I have every reason to be thankful, too often I allow even minor annoyances to steal my joy. If my TV suddenly starts acting funny or I spill something, I can go from zero to grumpy in nothing flat. When I get like that, even my dogs…
by Pastor David Turner We live in a world where everybody seems quick to believe the absolute worst about others. Dark conspiracy theories abound, in which political enemies are demonized in the most heinous ways possible. How about we start believing the best about people and searching for the angels among us? Because they are…
This past Sunday night the Gathering young families group met online again. And this week we did a short reflection on a great scripture from the New Testament, Hebrews 10:23-25 which says, “23 Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. 24 And let…
Have you ever heard that the tongue is the most powerful muscle in your body? I believe this is because it presents what you believe in your heart. When my twins were younger, they blurted out their frustration to the other one, which frequently resulted in hurt feelings. Now that they are older and have…
A Little Introduction… Pictured is our new Administrative Assistant of First Christian Church! Her name is Amy Garmoe, and she lives in Montrose, IA. She is coming to us from Burlington First Christian Church and has worked there for three years. She will tell you more about herself and family in her next Behind the…
The coronavirus pandemic is something we, as a church, are taking seriously. We’re doing little things (like changing the way we do communion in several of our services) to limit people’s exposure to germs. We’re also prepared in other ways should the coronavirus come to town. However, our mission “to be and share the Good…
I began my sabbatical on January 1st and merged back into church life last week on Ash Wednesday. In 33 years of ordained ministry, it was the first time I’d ever been away from pastoral ministry for more than two weeks at a time. It took a leap of faith – but has already bore…
The time in our lives has come to make tough, (but easy) decisions. My husband and I will be relocating to Ankeny, IA in the real near future. It’s hard to leave friends and start new jobs. It’s harder not to be close to our children and grandchildren. Life, as we all know, is too…
About 7 years ago, we began making plans for a church-wide Sabbath and also for my own pastoral sabbatical. We are now nearing the halfway point of our Jubilee year and beginning January 1st, I will begin a two-month sabbatical. During this time, I will pursue a Biblical study project (involving comic book artists and…
This coming Sunday, we will celebrate the love that came down at Christmas. Someone rewrote the love chapter (1 Cor. 13) as a reminder of what Christmas is really all about: “If I decorate my house perfectly with plaid bows and strands of twinkling lights, but do not show love to my family, I’m…