Several years ago, my mother-in-law invited the family on a Disney cruise to celebrate her 80th birthday. Grandmother Bell was the matriarch of a rather large family- 10 children, with accompanying spouses, and 30 grandchildren. Her birthday was always a big event, so most of the family gladly joined in a week-long celebration on the cruise. Dinners were lively with boisterous laughter from our co...  Read More

Today, in the afterglow of Thanksgiving, I give thanks for the faithful witness of our mission partner, Bruce Main. In 1988, God inspired Bruce Main and Tony Campolo to begin an outreach to the children of Camden, NJ. Thirty-five years later, Urban Promise impacts the lives of hundreds of children from preschool to young adult, with a thriving school, after school and summer programs, leadership t...  Read More

The tributes are pouring in for First Lady Rosalynn Carter, wife of the 39th President of the United States. Born Eleanor Rosalynn Smith on August 18, 1927, in Plains, GA, she married her childhood sweetheart when she was just 18 years old. For 77 years, Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter lived together, worshipped together, and worked together. Rosalynn was never just the ‘wife of,’ living in the shadow o...  Read More

We have all received the invitation in the mail… to an event intended to raise funds for a worthy cause. Perhaps one of the earliest such invitations was sent by King David almost 1000 years before the birth of Jesus. He called the leaders of Israel to the palace, treated them to a feast, and then invited them to invest in the building of a Temple to honor Yahweh. The funds raised that evening gav...  Read More

Lenape Valley was hopping this weekend… It all began on Friday night when our GrandFamilies gathered to enjoy a meal and share the challenge and joy of raising grandchildren. I am thankful for Beth Jester’s vision and leadership that creates a safe-haven for these families. When I arrived at the church mid-morning on Saturday, the New Britain Car Show was already in full swing. Classic and vintage...  Read More

As I write, a snuggly Ewok from Star Wars, and a bookish Belle fresh from her dance with the Beast, and Winnie the Pooh’s mopey friend Eeyore are getting ready for a stroll through the neighborhood in search of candy. Sound familiar? Every year we send our children out like beggars vying for sweets to pack in their lunches. When I was a child, my brothers and I competed with each other, not for th...  Read More