Author: Pastor Deborah

John 14:1-14        We were gathered at the set of bleachers along the field hockey field on campus. It was my senior year in college, and I had made room in my schedule for a course that exposed us to a variety of trust exercises and group games. One by one, we walked up to the top of the bleachers, maybe the top bench being about 10 feet off the ground. It was my turn. The rest of the class members stood on the ground just below where I stood at the top of the bleachers. They formed two lines with their arms outstretched toward each other, creating a human basket to catch me. Assured that they would be there for me, I turned my back to them and leaned backward, trusting their arms to safely catch me. Then it was over. I was safely caught and then carefully lowered to the ground, grateful for the arms of my classmates.
Trusting another person requires letting someone else be in control of something that directly affects you. In that exercise with my classmates, each one of us had to trust the rest of the group to catch us. It was a group commitment to one another—you trust me and I will trust you. Continue reading “The Trust Factor” →

Sermon 5.3.2020: John 10:1-10/Psalm 23 
This week I had the joy of being a part of the first ever Senior Comradery Zoom gathering. I was so impressed that 18 senior adults were on the call together, some with video, some with voice only– each one of them so glad to connect with one another during this time of social isolation, as many of them live alone. I was particularly struck by one woman who was on the phone and therefore unable to see the video images, but who clearly identified the voices of the others on the call: “Mary, I heard your voice, how are you?” “Linda, I heard your voice, are you still here?” She recognized the voices of her friends because she knows them, because they have spent time together, because they have a relationship with one another. She knew which voice belonged to which member of the group. Continue reading “Jesus is the Door” →