THE VIEW BLOG
Weekly Updates and Musings from Our Pastor & Director of Program Ministries
The Coffee Conundrum
Dear Church Family,
We have a morning routine in our house during the week. I’m responsible for the coffee portion of that routine because Kristen has to leave for work before I do. So, I wake up around 5:45 am, go downstairs, grind the coffee beans and brew the delicious liquid that will give us our first burst of energy for the day.
This morning, however, I went downstairs only to discover we were out of coffee beans — a real emergency, to say the least!
The Passage of Time
I do not really love the time change. The week after it goes into effect, everyone is groggy. Trying to get all of us up and out the door is very hard! At the morning’s rotating breakfast table, my four children offer me different attitudes.
Some of my children are very tired and grumpy and have no problem grumping in my direction. Others of them are just quiet because they haven’t fully awoken yet. All of us are tired and I will confess to you that I have had a little more caffeine than average this week.
Ash Wednesday & The Internet
Dear Church Family,
Yesterday was Ash Wednesday. As you know, we had the sanctuary open throughout the morning where people experienced a beautiful self-directed Ash Wednesday experience. Many thanks to Emily Bredthauer for putting that all together.
In addition, we had multiple people participate in our “Drive Through” Ash Wednesday station. It was wonderful to meet people in their car and impose ashes upon their foreheads with the traditional words, “Repent, and believe the good news.” I was even able to bless three dogs who came along for the ride.
Watch For God
It’s my week to write the article here, but inspiration is slow to arrive. Some weeks the topic arrives quickly and obviously; other weeks there are several competing ideas, and I must choose among a handful of interesting ones. And then there are a few weeks, like this one, where my idea bin is empty, no matter how many times I peer into it.
I often hop over to Pinterest to flip through some quotes to see if one of them strikes a chord with me, offering up a topic to write on. There are loads of good ones which often might inspire me, but none of them seemed quite right.
Mountain Top Experiences
Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart. --Luke 2:51
Dear Church Family,
I know this is a strange text to begin my article with, but stick with me, and I’ll explain. It’s from the only story we have about Jesus’ childhood, and it’s found in Luke chapter two. Jesus was 12 years old, and he went the temple in Jerusalem with his parents. When they began the long journey home to Nazareth, he stayed behind to listen and ask questions of the rabbis. His parents thought he was with the group only to discover after three days that they had left him behind. They quickly returned to the temple to find him and bring him home.
Our Mexico Missions Trip Team Heads Out
When I opened the office door an hour ago at 7:45am, the office was dark, relatively quiet, and a little cold. I turned on the heat and lights (which, when I thought about it, is sort of a modern miracle). It’s pouring outside and there is a downspout near my office that makes it sound even more like a deluge than it is.
Pastor Karl arrived around 8:15am and began to pack up his truck. He had a lot of nervous energy because there are 50+ people arriving soon to gather before they trundle off to Ensenada, this time in the rain.
Drenched By The Storms
Dear Church Family,
I just returned from walking our dog in the rain. He was soaked, and I had to towel him off in the garage before letting him inside. As he wriggled around, I wondered why drying off a dog always seems to wind them up. Nevertheless, we were both drenched, and it had to be done.
A Change in Mood
I hate to admit it, but I think I woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. Since diving back under the covers wasn’t really an option for me today, I did some yoga, took a shower, got dressed, made another cup of coffee, and headed out.
The parking lot was surprisingly full for a 9am on Thursday. I wasn’t expecting anyone and couldn’t recall that anything was going on. But then I remembered, the San Clemente Military Family Outreach (SCMFO) volunteers were assembling the layettes that they’ll give away on Saturday to military families who are expecting a baby soon.
The Word “Gospel”
Dear Church Family,
On Sunday, we continue our annual sermon series, Words You Hear In Church. I love this series as it give us the chance to explore the deeper meaning behind words we often use in church. And this Sunday's word is gospel.
Now, I don't want to give away the sermon, but I will say that, at its core, the word gospel simply means good news. (We'll dig deeper into that on Sunday; don't miss out.) But good news can be hard to come by these days.
The To-Do List
Yesterday, I was feeling particularly accomplished. I mean that most literally – I checked off almost all the things on my “List of Things To Do” – I was able to accomplish them! The feeling of satisfaction was a good one and I will not lie, I enjoy getting things done and crossing things off a list.
My to-do list is likely similar to yours with some tasks that seem to pop up regularly while others only make an appearance once. Each thing listed out needs tending to either because they are important or necessary or sometimes urgent. And so, we attend to these things as we move about our days.
California Fires
Dear Church Family,
On Tuesday I assumed that I would start my first article of 2025 with, “Happy New Year!” But 24 hours later, those words feel somehow out of place as I have been in touch with clergy and friends who have spent the last 24 hours being evacuated and wondering whether their homes will be there when they return. Suddenly the phrase, “Happy New Year” doesn’t seem to be the best way to start this article.
Yesterday, I helped our Trustees Chair move furniture from the Fellowship Hall walkway to make sure it didn’t get blown over in the high winds. At the same moment, my friends were quickly grabbing what they could and putting it in their cars. For the rest of the evening, like many of you, I watched the reports in disbelief as places I had visited, shared meals, and worshipped were threatened by fast-moving fires. How quickly everything can change.