Pastor Jean in Cortez

I feel grumpy!!!!!  I'm frustrated with household chores.  The trash bag broke. I tripped over the dog.  I swore at the birds that leave white streaks on my windows or worse--they fly into my windows at full force and break their little birdy necks and then I have to pick up poor dead bird bodies and dispose of them.  Even the squirrel that usually entertains me has become annoying with his incessant chattering and tail flips.  I wonder what those tail flips actually mean...? We are in week 5 of the Great Social D istancing of 2020.  I count our time in exile from the first day school was canceled (March 16th), which was also the day we started serving Hope's Kitchen lunches as take-out, and the day we closed the church office and started working from home.  Ten days later, on March 26, the statewide stay-at-home order went into effect.  After it was extended, we still have 12 days left on that stay-at-home order...and that's only if it doesn'...

It’s Friday…but Sunday’s Coming I went on a search for Easter Humor—because laughing together provides an opening for God to get to work in us.   Not easy to find Jokes I haven’t already told you… Then I realized that most of you probably don’t remember from year to year what jokes I’ve told….but if you remember the punch line, just keep it to yourself, OK? Here is my personal favorite: A delivery truck driver was driving his route very early on Easter morning—before it was even fully light.   Suddenly a rabbit hops out onto the road and gets hit by the truck!   The driver gets out of the truck, goes to investigate, and realizes that he has run over the Easter Bunny—and he’s DEAD!   The driver is just beside himself:   Oh No!   I killed the Easter Bunny!          I just ruined Easter for all these children—they won’t get their Easter eggs.   Oh No!   He paced up and down the side of the road....

Did you know that Ponderosa Pines lose one-third of their needles every year?  Here's the proof: These piles of needles are only a small portion of the piles all over my yard.  I am blessed to share my life with 10 (yes, 10) beautiful and ancient (read: huge) Ponderosa Pine trees.  There is nothing more relaxing than hearing the breeze move through the tops of these trees...and it turns out there is only one way to handle enormous piles of pine needles: I've learned that dry pine needles burn really well!  So well, in fact, that I need to keep a close eye on the fire so it doesn't spread to other piles. Watching the quick, hot flames catch and flare got me thinking.  This coronavirus situation we're in is a lot like trying to keep a fire under control.  The fire is always seeking fuel, and unless prevented, it will stop at nothing to keep burning. My friends, you and I are the fuel this coronavirus is seeking.  It will spread fr...

Shalom --  Salaam --  Shanti --  Peace All of the world's major religions place value on Peace--peace of mind, peace in relationships, peaceful coexistence with the natural world.  As this COVID-19 situation goes on and on, we are all likely seeking peace in our lives.  We yearn for peace of mind in the face of an unending stream of bad news.   We pray for peace and protection for healthcare workers, EMTs, caregivers, law enforcement personnel, grocery workers, truckers, custodians--everyone whose lives have been turned upside down by caring for the rest of us in this time of crisis.   As days turn into weeks turn into months sharing limited space in stressful conditions with family members...we may need to add "peace in our relationships" to our peace list.  Our whole human society is off-balance right now--and this reflects the longtime imbalance in our treatment of the natural world and all its resources.  So the peace we...

Prayer is not asking.  It is a longing of the soul.  It is daily admission of one's weakness.  It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without a heart.                                                                                                                                                                              Mahatma Gandhi Today we held our first Zoom online and dial-in worship and fellowship gathering.  It seems so strange that our times of feeling most connected to each other is not in physical ...

Musician Bill Withers died yesterday.  For some of us, it feels like the passing of a very special era in music.  Others may not be famliar with Withers at all.  Until I say:  "Bill Withers wrote and performed Lean On Me ."    It was only one of a long string of hits that includes "Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone," "Grandma's Hands," "Use Me."  Withers' musical genre is variously described as Soul, Rhythm and Blues or Funk.  However you describe Bill Withers and his music...your description is going to fall short.  Because in the 1970-s and early '80's, Withers opened up a world of possibilities for music and for living. Lean On Me .   I've sung it for years, sometimes with goofy fun, more often with deep emotion at youth and young adult church events.  It became the anthem of a generation--a promise to reach out when someone needs a friend--a commitment to being there, no matter what--a reminder that if we change...