Sunday, March 16, 2025

Dear Friends, 

I have thought a lot about the subset of individuals who believe politics should be avoided in church.  I can imagine that their motivations are good.  They might be thinking, “Politics are so divisive.  Let’s avoid more divisiveness.”  They might also be thinking, “The noise in the world is so loud.  Can’t we come to church and quiet the noise?”  I get it.  

At the same time, I feel compelled to say that Christianity is not on board with avoidance.  Christianity has always spoken to the Emperor, to the nature of power, and to an empire’s (or nation’s) treatment of its most vulnerable citizens.  To understand Christianity is to understand its voice.  Christianity is not a private and personal matter.  It is a private, personal and public matter.  It always has been.  It always will be.  

I am reminded of the recent film about Dietrich Bonhoeffer.  He was a preacher in Hitler’s Germany.  He was active in the German Reformed Church.  The official church at the time had two pronounced positions on politics: 1) be quiet and avoid talking about it, or 2) bless the ruling authorities for they must have our best interests in mind.  Now I am not suggesting that we are living in Hitler’s Germany.  But I am concerned that we somehow prefer a church that stays quiet on controversial matters, a church that gives the benefit of the doubt to politicians who rarely, if ever, have the best interests of the populace in mind.  

This week, I landed on an article about G.K. Chesterton, an English philosopher and theologian.  It reads: “Chesterton devoted a great part of his life to trying to bring social and economic justice to the world. And his emphasis was always on trying to get people to think clearly, to see first principles. And Chesterton understood that ultimately every political question is also a theological question. His mantra was this: ‘We cannot be vague about the power of Love.  For that is what we are willing to fight for and die for.’”

Lots to think about in these trying times.  Let’s not be quiet.

Carter       

Sunday, March 9, 2025

Dear Friends,

The liturgical year, like the calendar year, has seasons.  They tend to mirror the seasons of the Northern Hemisphere because (with all due respect to our brothers and sisters in the Southern Hemisphere) early Christianity spread north and east faster than it spread south or west.  We have just entered the season of Lent. 

The word "Lent" comes from the Old English word lencten, which means spring and is related to the lengthening of daylight during this season. This directly connects Lent to the idea of renewal, transformation, and the transition from winter into new life—both in nature and in the soul. It has been a cold winter, so this is such welcome news!  In addition, this aligns with the deeper spiritual themes of Lent: reflection, repentance, and preparation for resurrection and renewal at Easter.

So where does that leave us? Is it an alarm clock for our soul? A spiritual reset? A retreat? A reorientation? A chance to run away from it all?  Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. And Yes.
Lent calls us to a different way of being in the world. We acknowledge that we are finite and mortal—yes, we are dust. But we are beloved dust, destined not for destruction but for resurrection. The work of Lent is not a traditional self-improvement project or a turn towards toxic positivity.  It is a deep surrender to the transforming Grace of God.

So come with us as we journey into the wilderness with Jesus and explore the wilderness of our own lives. It is here that the mercy and Grace of God can enter us and shape our souls. It is my prayer that our inner pilgrimage will help us greet the arrival of Easter on April 20 ready to be transformed into new life with Jesus and feel all the joy that Easter brings.

Love,
Cheryl

Sunday, February 23, 2025

Dear Friends,

At Talmadge Hill, we talk a great deal about love. From our mission work, to our worship, to the rituals and rhythms in which we interact, love is at the core. It is all rooted, of course, in God’s love for us and the constant invitation to show love in return. It is my fervent hope as a minister that everyone who attends Sunday Worship, everyone who participates in our mission work, everyone who participates in Bible Study, Contemplative Prayer or Music, or any of our other offerings connects deeper to God’s love at the core of it all.
 
Yet Jesus is always speaking of another way that the world could be and another way that love could be. Jesus speaks to the love that is outside of our control and the love that does not feel natural to give or receive.  And Jesus always hints that when we consider what it means to live and love differently in the world, we, and the world we live in, are transformed.
 
This Sunday’s Gospel presents us with one of Jesus’ most challenging teachings: “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you…” (Luke 6:27-28). These words invite us to consider what it means to rethink love and compassion, shaped by the transforming power of God’s love, rather than the logic of retribution that so often shapes our world.
 
And at its core, radical love is hope in action. It reminds us that even in challenging times, love for everyone – enemies included  –  can create meaning, connection, and light. The world needs this love and light. 
 
God is a god of surprises and possibility.  What can a radical approach to sharing your love open for you? Jesus is always speaking about another way the world can be.  Can you help create this world? I promise your efforts will offer grace not only to you, but everyone you encounter.
 
I hope you will join us this Sunday and connect to this core element of Jesus’s teachings.
 
Love,
Cheryl

Sunday, February 16, 2025

Dear Friends, 

The Christian faith asks, and then answers, the question: “Who Am I?”  It’s an important question because most of us aren’t really sure what makes the greatest claims on our time/energy/thought(s)/feeling(s).  If we don’t know, how would we talk about our deepest identity?  And if we don’t know, how would that identity show up in our lives in ways that matter?  

To be sure, hundreds of things hold sway over who and how we might identify ourselves.  Some of them are given to us.  They are not choices.  I am male.  I am white.  I am straight.  I was born in the United States.  I have Southern roots.  I am an Enneagram #4.  I grew up upper-middle class.  Does this define me?  In some ways, it does.  

But then there are all the other matters which are related to choices I have made along life’s journey.  I was married.  I am divorced.  I am a father to two children.  I am a left-leaning liberal (which on some days is no more than a bunch of opinions that I adopted from someone else).  I am a humanitarian.  I am a Christian (which means I have a strong devotion to the life/teachings/ministry and transformative impact of Jesus’ life).  How much do all of these things define me?  Am I clear on what matters a little, and what matters a lot? 

As of late, I am seeking more clarity.  Why?  I am not entirely sure.  Yet I have a growing sense that I want to know my own mind and my own heart in a new way.  I want to know how the best of me sees me, and how the best of me would choose to see you.  I don’t want social media (or the world for that matter) to tell me very much.  The world is full of it.  Most of the time it stresses all that matters least.  

So what does my faith tell me?  First, I am a sinner saved from my propensity to be too self-involved and self-centered.  I am also created in God’s image which is nothing but grace.  How did I get here?  From love.  Why am I here?  For love.  Why are you here?  The same reason.  Pretty much everything else isn’t that important.  Thanks be to God.  

Carter          

Sunday, February 2, 2025

Dear Friends,

We have come to the end of January.  While this week was warmer than last week, every time the wind blows and the sun sets, I feel the chill return and I remember that we are still in the deep winter.  

We are also in the middle of the Epiphany season, a season that doesn’t simply end with the visit of the Magi right after Christmas.  It is an entire season about seeing the extraordinary in the everyday. It lasts until Lent starts on Ash Wednesday, and this year that doesn’t happen until March 5.  We still have a month to go!

So how will you use the next month of Epiphany to uncover some extraordinary things in your life?  Whether you feel snow crunching, ice cracking or mud mushing under your feet, we know that the frozen world will soon give way to something else. There is awe and beauty in this season and there is so much more in our world than what we accept as “ordinary.”  

Winter will yield to spring in its own time. It is not ours to choose. Yet when we can take this time to see the extraordinary in the ordinary, our spirits will thaw on their own accord.  Katherine May, the author of Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times said, “Winter is not the death of the life cycle, but its crucible.” May you discover your inner crucible and may it thaw your spirit and light the way to the many places God is revealed in your life this winter.

May it be so.

Love,
Cheryl