As you know there are many denominations and “flavors” of Christianity. In 2012 Christianity Today estimated there are “approximately 38,000” Christian denominations. Wow, that’s a lot of different human viewpoints of what it means to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. So I wonder with all of these various ways of being church, and with church attendance in general declining over the last several d…
Imagine yourself a missionary. Though you probably value and support missionaries, it is too far out of your comfort zone. It looks too much like difficult living conditions and too many sacrifices. When I was young I thought I wanted to be a missionary going to some distant land. Little did I know that God was already using me as a missionary. Clifford Taylor was our old bachelor neighbor. …
While most of the time I am a road cyclist, occasionally I get the itch to explore somewhere new on my mountain bike. This will inevitably include a season of finding myself completely and hopelessly lost, usually in a deep valley where any choice I make will involve lots of hill climbing. A mistake will mean lots of spent (and ultimately, wasted) energy. And so I’ve found myself suddenly with a d…
Produce to People is the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank’s large-scale produce distribution program. They operate 17 distributions each month at 17 different locations. Each family receives 30-50 pounds of food, mostly fresh produce. Westminster provides all of the volunteers at the north side location 3 Saturdays a year and has done so for at least the past 9 years. We register folks, pr…
I have worn glasses since high school, and although I once wore contact lenses, my glasses are now my daily companion and essential. My glasses are on my face nearly the entire time I am awake each day. If I take my glasses off while around my grandchildren they look curiously at my face and will tell me to put on my glasses back. I don’t look like myself. They do not recognize me without glasses o…
