In the movie Chariots of Fire, British athlete Eric Liddell was torn between his dream of participating in the 1924 Olympic Games and his religious convictions when he learned that his first heat of the 100-meter dash was scheduled on a Sunday. He met with the Prince of Wales and the committee to share his
I am back on the coast of Maine after a year off last year because of the pandemic. Although there are a few rather dreadful changes (construction of a tall, view-blocking hotel in the heart of Rockport village), the natural beauty of sea, sky, lush green lawns, and wildflowers remains untouched.
Monica Marshall is Calvary’s new sexton. There are many moving parts in any Calvary event. Monica will oversee opening and securing our buildings, scheduling and training security guards, and keeping our facilities clean and safe for worship, ministries, and special events. We got to know Monica when she was working as a contracted
Communion means the world to me. Getting to be a part of it as presider, assistant, or person in the pew is a practice, the absence of which would break my heart and erode my soul. That is true despite the fact that neither my devotion to it nor my deep need of it makes
What is going on with the old Hospitality Hub building next to Calvary’s staff parking lot? For the last eight years, we rented the space to the Hospitality Hub for $1/year. Now that the Hub has moved to 590 Washington Avenue at the old inspection station, Calvary’s vestry has re-thought the use of the space for the
This spring, Calvary’s vestry named its 2021 focus as “Welcome to Calvary.” Whether you and your family have been part of Calvary for generations or you walked in for the first time last Sunday, no one is being welcomed back to an unchanged church. We all need to be welcomed anew after the year we’ve just lived through. So
This week my brother flies in to help our dad move to Silver Spring, Maryland. And among the things we’ll need to attend to is his beloved 1953 Pontiac. The car is the same model as the one Dad was driving when he met our mother in Dallas. He was in seminary, and
My mother told me about the greatest compliment she ever received. A music director once said to her,
‘Marilyn, you are the best accompanist I have ever heard. You know, the tendency of most concert-quality pianists and organists like yourself is to outshine and often overpower singers and other musicians. You don’t do that. You know
For more than 25 years Fred Goldsmith has been the smiling face of Calvary to almost everyone who came through our doors during the week. For children being dropped off at Calvary Place or neighbors needing help making a connection or a utility payment, for flower guild folks or people coming in for pastoral care or midweek worship
As I write this short note, I am preparing to return to Jackson from New York City to preach at the funeral of a good friend, who died last night. My thoughts are too full of him this morning to write about anything or anyone else. I beg your indulgence as I write a few