April 27, 2023 Dear Hyde Park Family, Last Monday, I filmed an interview with a clergy colleague who is hosting a series of conversations about the United Methodist Church, and a hopeful vision of its future. If you are interested in watching that interview, let me...

April 20, 2023 Dear Hyde Park Family, Our journey through 1 Corinthians 13 continues this Sunday with an exploration of the phrase “Love is kind.”The lesson of kindness is one that we learned as children, but is one that we tend to ignore today. But even simple acts...

April 6, 2023 Dear Passion Week Pilgrims, “Lenten Communion” by Katharine Tynan (1861-1931)   Rest in a friend’s house, Dear, I pray: The way is long to Good Friday, And very chill and grey the way. No crocus with its shining cup, Nor the gold daffodil is up, –...

March 30, 2023 Dear Lenten Pilgrims, The events of these past days can be marked by three powerful and timely prayers, which speak to needs of our world and our hope in God. I invite you to consider them prayerfully. PRAYER 1: “LORD, DELIVER US” The first is by Rear...

March 23, 2023 Dear Hyde Park Fmaily, There are two sacred observances happening within the next ten days whose juxtaposition rarely gets much attention. The first event is this Saturday, March 25, known as Annunciation Day. It is precisely nine months before...

Tomorrow is St. Patrick’s Day, as you may know. Like Christmas, Easter, Halloween, and Valentine’s Day, it is a civic and cultural day rooted in religious history. While many people will be celebrating with all things green (including clothes, shamrocks, and even our...

Dear Hyde Park Family, Yesterday was International Women’s Day, which has been commemorated by the United Nations since 1975 and endorsed by our denomination’s United Methodist Women (recently renamed United Women in Faith.) It is a global celebration of women and an...

Dear Lenten Pilgrims, My friend Rev. Jan Richardson is one of the coolest clergy colleagues I know. She is a United Methodist minister, an internationally regarded artist, and the director of The Wellspring Studio, LLC, in Winter Park, Florida. Her artwork has been...

Dear Hyde Park Family, This Sunday I’ll be preaching on the fourth day of creation, when God created the planets, stars, sun, and moon. Prior to Sunday, I would love for you to take 30-minutes to watch a short documentary film titled Cosmic Voyage. I originally saw it...

Dear Hyde Park Family, In Celtic spirituality there is a term called “thin places,” where a person experiences the God’s presence more readily than in any other place. Travel writer Eric Weiner describes them as “those rare locales where the distance between heaven...

Dear Hyde Park Family, Are there certain fragrances that evoke strong memories for you?  I was surprised to learn recently that the same part of our brain that processes our sense of smell is the same as where we store our memories. Your olfactory bulb is connected to...

Dear Hyde Park Family, This Sunday we begin a new worship series titled “Living with Gratitude.” It is a continuation of the leadership theme with which we started the year, based on Diana Butler Bass’ book Grateful: The Subversive Practice of Giving Thanks. Each...

Thirty years ago, I was in a small group Bible study in college, in which the leader was talking about Matthew 28:18-20, our scripture reading for this Sunday’s Missions Celebration. Jesus utters these iconic words to his disciples: “Go therefore and make disciples of...

Dear Hyde Park Family, It is a condition that affects about one in 1 in 5 adults in the United States each year. One in 6 American youth experience this challenge, and it is the most common cause of hospitalizations of people under the age of 45. It is the leading...

Dear Hyde Park Family, At the outset of a meeting last Tuesday of the Committee on Lay Leadership, I read Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, which contains the iconic “For everything there is a season” passage. Then I read a lovely poem by Laura Grace Weldon titled, “Compost...

Dear Hyde Park Family, “Can you hear me now?” You may remember that famous line from the advertising campaign for Verizon Wireless. It began on January 14, 2002, when nearly half of all Americans owned a cell phone. The ad assured Verizon subscribers that their cell...

Dear Hyde Park Family, As we conclude our worship series “The Meaning of Methodist” this Sunday, here are ten reasons I love being United Methodist. I pray they resonate with you, too. 1. I love how United Methodists view God. We believe that first and foremost, God...

Dear Hyde Park Family, Today I am remembering some very special people in my life. I remember the woman who worked in the church nursery when I was just a small child. I don’t remember her name, but I can still recollect her face and her smile. She welcomed me when my...

Dear Hyde Park Family, The world lost a major spiritual voice last Monday when we learned of the death of Frederick Buechner. He was a Presbyterian minister, spiritual teacher and prolific author of 39 books. He is one of the most often quoted writers by preachers...

Dear Hyde Park Family, This week, schools are beginning a new year all across our area. It is a time mixed with anticipation, apprehension and the welcome return of routine. It is also an opportunity for us to pray God’s blessings on our students, teachers, families,...

Dear Hyde Park Family, I returned to the office this week, having relished the gift of a study and renewal leave. My daughters and I shared some wonderful experiences, the insights from which I am eager to share with you over the weeks and months ahead. For now, I am...

(Note: Read to the end of today’s Midweek Message for a pastoral statement on the recent school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.) Dear Hyde Park Family, People attending our in-person worship services may have noticed that for the past several weeks I have preceded my...

Dear Hyde Park Family, We are now in graduation season here in the Tampa Bay area, as we celebrate high school seniors embarking on an exciting and unfolding future. We will be honoring our seniors this Sunday in worship, as well as praying for graduating students at...

  Dear Hyde Park Family, Happy National Limerick Day! I know; today’s observance was likely not on your calendar. It wasn’t on mine, either, until I randomly checked this website yesterday. In case you’re wondering, today is also International Nurses Day,...

Dear Hyde Park Family, In preparation for this Sunday, when we celebrate and honor the mothers and mother figures in our lives, here is a reprise of a prayer for Mother’s Day that I first offered years ago. May it guide us into a deeper appreciation for these special...

Dear Hyde Park Family, There is a legend that someone once asked Ernest Hemingway to write a story using only six words. His response? “For sale: Baby shoes. Never worn.” Since then, the idea of a “Six-Word Story” has grown in popularity. One article defines it as “a...

Dear Hyde Park Pilgrims, Don’t finish what you can’t start. That’s a twist on the classic cliché, but it is sage advice for our tendency to jump quickly to Easter without moving through the Passion. Our stores are stocked with plastic grass and chocolate bunnies, yet...

Dear Hyde Park Family, Last Sunday morning, I spent the 9:30 hour with about thirty of our seventh-grade confirmation students, to walk them through a rehearsal for our Confirmation Service on April 24. I also spent time with the entire youth group, for a special...

Dear Lenten Pilgrims, In March 2010, during a family trip to Paris, we visited the Rodin Museum, featuring the work of the great sculptor Auguste Rodin. We saw his most famous sculpture, The Thinker, along with many other amazing works. In contrast to the smooth...

Dear Hyde Park Family,          Last week, I returned from spending a few days in San Diego, where my older daughter Grace is a junior at San Diego State. My younger daughter Madelyn flew over from Washington, D.C., giving the three of us a fun time to reconnect....

Dear Lenten Pilgrims, Five years ago, I wrote a Midweek Message titled “Ten Other Things You Might Give Up for Lent,” which was subsequently picked up and published by Ministry Matters, our denomination’s online publication. You may wish to refer back to it as a guide...

Dear Hyde Park Family, As we begin this Lenten journey, we join our hearts and spirits in prayer for the devastation occurring in the country of Ukraine and the trauma experienced by its people around the world. We pray for an end to violence, comfort for the mourning...

Dear Hyde Park Family, For today’s Midweek Message, I’m resurrecting (pun intended) a message from 2018, in which I playfully contemplate what the transfiguration of Jesus, observed by Christians this Sunday, might look like in today’s social media world.  ...

Dear Hyde Park Family, I love sessions with my therapist. They have been an important key to maintaining emotional wellness during this long, difficult season of life and ministry. Those of you with such a relationship with a therapist know these benefits; I’m...

Dear Hyde Park Family,   We are a week away from Thanksgiving, and I pray your days ahead will be filled with moments of joy, reflection, and connecting with loved ones.   As the season suggests, may there also be occasions for you to give deep thanks to God and to...

Dear Hyde Park Family, “AHHHH-LEX-AHHHHH … STOP!” I have discovered the joys of teaching my elderly parents how to use the Alexa app on their Amazon Echo. I purchased it for them a few weeks ago to give them a way of playing Filipino music by their favorite artists....

Most of the time, I have to figure out what to write for my Midweek Message. This week’s message practically fell into my lap. Last Tuesday, during our staff chapel, as we were preparing to pray for the joys and concerns submitted by the congregation last Sunday, our...

Dear Hyde Park Family, It’s harvest season in the fields and farms across the country, and a time of year I gained an appreciation for during my eight years serving in Iowa. Farmers are in their combines, reaping the benefits of their risk: planting last spring,...

Dear Hyde Park Family, One of the joys of offering our online service every Sunday is the new sense of connection we have with people around the country. For the last several months, a couple from Virginia named Claudette and David Collins have not only been joining...

Tomorrow, laity and clergy from across Florida United Methodism will gather virtually for Annual Conference, to engage in the tradition of holy conferencing that is as old as Methodism itself. It will be a time of renewed connection, prayer, and inspiration, as we...

Dear Hyde Park Family, “Prayer means that, in some unique way, we believe we’re invited into a relationship with someone who hears us when we speak in silence.” I recently re-read the book “Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayers” by Anne Lamott, whose writing...

I’m not sure who decides such things, but on the National Day Calendar website, this past week contained several unusual observances: Monday was National Clean Your Room Day, followed by National Eat What You Want Day. Who knew that yesterday was National Odometer...

Dear Hyde Park Family, This Sunday we focus on Jesus’ famous image of the vine and the branches in John 15, in which he calls us to abide in him and bear fruit. It is important to remember that the standard by which we measure our faithfulness to God is faithfulness,...

This Sunday our services focus on Jesus as our Good Shepherd from John 10. And in an odd bit of comedic timing, this video popped up in my social media feed. You’ll want to watch it. I bet you can relate to that sheep as much as I can. And here are a few other timely...

Dear Hyde Park Family, So then, if anyone is in Christ, that person is part of the new creation. The old things have gone away, and look, new things have arrived! (2 Corinthians 5:17) Last Sunday we kicked off our new worship series “A New Creation,” and I concluded...