December 13, 2022
December 2, 2022
Sightings
The Amazing No Rehearse Open Cast All Church Christmas Pageant An Idea For Your Congregation? by Ken Rummer “Nobody wants to direct the Christmas pageant this year. And Saturday rehearsal times are already claimed by kids’ sports and family activities. What are we going to do?” Back in my pastoring days, the Christian Ed Committee… Read more »
November 17, 2022
Sightings
Wind swirl and leaf dance From the study window by Ken Rummer *** The leaves are dancing today. It’s mostly a circle dance just off the southwest corner of the church, but from time to time there are skips and even high jumps as the winter-brown leaves whirl and spin to a music I can’t… Read more »
October 14, 2022
Gospel and Inclusivity
October 7, 2022
Sightings
Wisdom for Two Pair-bonding advice for next-level relationships by Ken Rummer Wind out of the northwest, crisp and chill. I’m wishing I’d worn one more layer for this morning’s walk, maybe a shell over the fleece. Brr. Autumn is here. Beside the trail, milkweed pods spill their tufted seeds. And across the second gravel road,… Read more »
September 2, 2022
Sightings
This is the way Reading sidewalks as a spiritual practice by Ken Rummer Fortune tellers read palms. Ancient Etruscans read the livers of sheep. I’ve been reading sidewalks. Dark purple splatters? Evidence of a mulberry tree near by. BB-sized rounds crunching under foot? Choke cherry pits. And that gray, leaf-shaped stain,… Read more »
August 5, 2022
Sightings
Does wonder have a shelf-life? Musings on wow-fade by Ken Rummer Does wonder have a shelf-life? Does it come with a best-if-used-by date? I’m asking because of the mountains. Just to be clear, we don’t have mountains in Iowa. Our elevation leader, Hawkeye Point, only makes it up to 1670 feet. We have bluffs, we… Read more »
July 1, 2022
Sightings
Of geese and bikes and Christian worship Learning the apprentice way by Ken Rummer A meadowlark sings from a tall prairie stem, rabbits dart back into trailside grass, and six young geese, webbed feet churning, push across the pond. They aren’t on their own. A parent goose leads the procession and another parent goose brings… Read more »
June 8, 2022
Gospel and Inclusivity
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion as Marks of the Church Practicing Inclusion by Samuel Son This article is the fourth of a continuing series on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Church. In the first and second article, we recalled how the values practiced intuitively in the early church were a response to their understanding that Jesus proved himself… Read more »
June 3, 2022
Sightings
Hope like a green shoot What I noticed preaching for presbytery by Ken Rummer “Like a green shoot pushing up through scorched earth.” I had just spoken these words when I noticed the listening. Heads tilted for a better view. Silence pooled in the pause. They were listening, really listening. I was preaching for… Read more »