Three years ago today… on March 14, 2020… the world closed its doors. At noon, the Elders of Lenape Valley Church voted to ‘cancel’ in-person Sunday worship for the next day. The office, the preschool, the weekday ministries- all of Lenape Valley Church closed. It was the only decision that we could make to protect the welfare of our people, but it felt counter intuitive. When the people of God fa...  Read More

Every week I write a message… now that we are in Lent I am writing two messages a week… and each time I leave cuttings on the floor at the end of the project. In the entertainment business, those cuttings are called “outtakes”- those scenes and sequences that do not make the final production. Yet often those outtakes contain gems that writers hate to leave behind. How many of us have seen the ‘ext...  Read More

On Wednesday, February 8, students gathered for a regular chapel service on the campus of Asbury University in Wilmore, KY. Students at Asbury are required to attend at least three chapel services per week, so on that day about 100 students gathered to hear the Assistant Soccer coach, Zach Meerkreebs speak on Romans chapter 12. At the end of chapel, Meerkreebs texted his wife that he had “totally ...  Read More

In 1929…            The Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming was established.            Popeye the Sailor made his debut.            The first Oscars were given out at the Academy Awards.            The world’s population was 2,059 million people.            Herbert Hoover was President.            The average income in the US was $1,582.00 per year.            Sunglasses were invented.          ...  Read More

I know that some of you saw the title of the Tuesday Letter this week and just shook your head. How could we still be talking about Christmas? Most of you took your tree down a week ago. All your neighbors, with the exception of a few diehards, already put their Christmas lights away. Last week the stores started adding Valentine’s merchandise to their shelves. And we are just a few short weeks fr...  Read More

We all know the story…Mary and Joseph travelled for days from their home in Nazareth to Bethlehem to pay their taxes.  Mary was well along in her pregnancy, so riding on a donkey was difficult.  Joseph walked by her side the whole way, arriving in Bethlehem exhausted.  Both needed shelter for the night, but there was “no room in the inn.”  Actually, in a small town like Bethlehem, there probably w...  Read More