What We Say

With Thanksgiving just two weeks away, I want to get mine in early.  I am thankful for the Hanover Saints, and in this season I am especially grateful for the pledges offered by the Saints at 18th and Baynard.  Your pledges are such a blessing for so many reasons, not the least of which is […]

This has been a life-span week. On Monday morning I was with the family of a recently departed Hanover Saint to plan the service to celebrate his life.  In the first part of his 94 years he experienced the blessings of an amazing family, then proceeded to co-create one of his own, and through it […]

For reasons of space and simplicity this section usually contains one theme, thought, and message.  This week, in honor of Halloween, I offer two messages modeled on the day’s mantra: trick or treat. Part I: The Trick We’ve got a problem in our nation that is of Biblical proportion, and threatens to trick us into […]

Call it the preacher’s curse: the insatiable need to find a metaphor and message in everything from the mundane to the momentous.  I’ve got it bad… Early one morning this week I was on my bike cruising down Governor Printz Boulevard with a cold north wind blowing off the Delaware into my face.  Off to […]

Then Peter said, ‘Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?’ Acts 10:46-47 In worship this Sunday we will celebrate covenants, community, and the blessings of belonging. First we will gather around the font of grace, and witness the pouring of the baptismal waters […]

Last evening the Hanover Saint express made its way to St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church in Bear to be with activist and author Sister Helen Prejean.  She captivated the congregation with the story of her journey from a privileged girl raised in the comfortable suburbs of New Orleans to the world’s best known advocate […]

It is a night I will never forget.  It was Saturday evening, and dinner was warm and ready.  Our younger acrobat, gymnast, and dancer, then three years old, decided to practice all three disciplines on the arm of the living room sofa.  It didn’t go well.  The routine resulted in a tumble – head first […]

Each year in recognition of the National Day of Remembrance, the Delaware Victims’ Victims Rights Task Force sponsors an event called the Day of Remembrance.  Earlier this evening the event was held at PS DuPont Middle School.  Families and friends of murder victims post pictures and stories on walls, hear presentations, consume food and fellowship, and share stories and […]

This week another community was added to a list that no community wants to be on. Navy Yard Boston Newtown Aurora Fort Hood Virginia Tech Columbine Oklahoma City In each of these places the horrific actions of one person devastated an entire community, shocked an entire nation, and effected to the entire world. As we […]