As most of you know, back in April we were notified about a potential gift to the church from the estate of our friend, Libby Stevens. We were asked by the trustees of her estate to submit a proposal as to how any potential disbursement might be used. In June, with the help of Bob […]

In the preface to their new book, The Pastor as Public Theologian, co-authors Kevin Vanhoozer and Owen Strachan write: “The idea for this book began with a shock (in a cemetery) and a scandal (in a seminary).” Nice word-play, no? Explaining first the shock in the cemetery, they recount the story of an American couple […]

Summer rest, or rest in general, is, apparently, more important than I realized. In mid-July Linda and I took a week to visit my mother in CT and see our granddaughter perform in a musical in upstate NY. On the way back we stopped to see our son in Holden. But it wasn’t until about […]

On the last Sunday in June the Study Group finally offered its “findings.” One central, if not the central, finding was the need to reclaim our Christian story, including our biblical story. This is especially important because we live in a society where serious, important theological questions go largely unanswered. In a timely article in […]

How to be the church? That is the question, though, come to think of it, such a question can seem pointless. After all, our lives are pretty settled. Most of us have carved out an existence that works in most respects. The community we live in does cause irritations from time to time, but on […]

April showers bring May flowers. Or, if you like, more showers. And then the flowers, eventually, sometime down the road. This is Cape Cod, after all. But it is a glorious time nonetheless. After the “seasonal clarity” of this past winter, the fairly sudden changes of temperatures, fairer skies, and the slow but inexorable greening […]

The group assembled to address the ongoing dispute between the church and the Town of Harwich regarding the future of our Memorial Garden (Bob Buchanan, Lynn Carver, Mary Montgomery, and myself) has been hard at work. As part of our ongoing efforts, and with prior approval of the Cabinet, we recently hired Barbara Huggins, a […]

In a sermon I preached a few weeks ago I joked about how Tony Robinson, author of our Study Group’s go-to text, Transforming Congregational Culture, urges church leaders to use a lot of repetition in getting their vision across. As I said at the time, I think I’ve done that pretty darn effectively!!! A week […]

It’s snuck up on us again. Advent/Christmas, that is. On November 30th we entered, simultaneously, the new liturgical year as well as Advent, that time of preparation in anticipation of the birth of the Christ-child. It’s a magical time, filled with much busy-ness yet much joy. It is, in miniature, the gospel paradox of fulfillment […]

For Ann… The change of season brings forth a marked sensibility. As nature is transformed, attitudes and perceptions are transformed as well. When it comes to fall, it’s not a change I always welcome. After all, it signals the end of summer, of boundless days, of light and leisure. Cape Cod itself leaves behind the […]

Over the years one continuing theme of congregational life here at First Church has been the question of our future. Each of you is familiar with the specifics. With over 7,000 churches in the U.S. closing their doors each year, and with the numbers in our churches, in terms of people and financial resources, decreasing […]