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Still, and yet again, the Spirit was stirring.  Last night, with gusto we gathered around tables to share soup and bread. After our Lenten meal, we moved into our Ash Wednesday worship service, mindful that we live somewhere between the ashes and the cross, our own fragility and life abundant in Christ. Word and sacrament were c...

Lent has arrived, again. Today it was accompanied by fat, fluffy, snow flurries. It was beautiful, to my eyes anyway. I heard other opinions that perceved today's weather with descripters not so kind. I suppose it is that business about the eye of the beholder. Ash Wednesday is the point in the church year that we enter into the season of...

I have no idea ... but what a delight that colony of black-footed African penguins were to watch. Wildebeests, warthogs, waterfalls and waddling penguins, an imaginative array, don't you think? Unique. Special. Intriguing. Now that I am home, back in my study, I sincerely hope that I will continue to live out the delight of unique, s...

The end of our African Odyssey is fast approaching. Today we fly south for a couple of nights in Cape Town; among other things we will visit a nearby penguin colony. More critters!What joy it has been to not only see the amazing animals along the way but to actually get to observe behaviors. We have watched hunting and fighting ...

Let’s talk about poaching, not eggs this time…Here in the south of Africa, the rhino population is on the brink because of poaching. On the one hand, we can blame the people who actually hunt down the endangered creatures and remove their horns. But we don’t have to go very far upstream to realize the heart of the problem are the people who cr...

Today we were invited to worship with our guide at her home church here in Victoria Falls. It is enough to say that dancing was involved! As if our cup of blessings was not already overflowing, we were doused with the spray from Victoria Falls herself. Immanuel and Silverton, you remain in my prayers! Pastor Leah

Today it was lions, up close and personal. What a privilege! Pastor Leah

We have spent hours looking for and observing the bigs guys — like elephants, giraffes, hippos, zebras and wildebeests. Small creatures like warthogs and meerkats have also captured our time and attention. Again and again we have been blessed with magnificent sunsets. It makes me wonder if orange was cre...

As we have traveled from region to region, visiting parks and reserves, we regularly hear stores about synergistic relationships. It is after the work of the woodpecker that the owl has a den. Likewise, the porcupine’s burrow begins with the anteater foraging for his meal. We have seen the bird that takes to flight to announce to the...

After several days on the road, we have arrived at the Okavango Delta in Botswana. Upon arrival we did a fly-over and spotted elephants, giraffes, zebras and hippos. There were plenty of other critters that we were unable to properly identify/name. Today we were on the water and had close (enough) encounters with hippos. Fascinating and e...

Today was spent in Johannesburg and Soweto. Between Constitutional Hill, Nelson Mandela’s Home and the Apartheid Museum we had a deep drink of the profound racial difficulties this nation has endured. Even so, it remains a country brimming with hope. On Constitutional Hill we sat in the Constitutional Court which had been built from ...

After an incredibly long 36-hour-journey, we have arrived in Johannesburg, South Africa, a trip that was actually scheduled for 2020, but we know all about that debacle…Witnessing the animal-life is core to the trip’s agenda, alongside of unique cultural experiences. And then there will be unforeseen surprises, li...

Good News of the empty tomb….Amazing and powerful music….Kid’s time wonder….Energy of the gathered community….Bright flowers in the cross…Smiles….Just baked cinnamon rolls….Easter joy! Pastor Leah

On the Church Calendar, today is Maundy Thursday. As Jesus' Passion is revealed, this day is marked and remembered by two significant events ~ washing of the disciples' feet and the Lord's Supper. While gathered together, Jesus removed his outer garment, donned a towel and began washing the feet of his beloved. {Mind you, the very people who would ...

And now we journey through Holy Week … from a grand entry into Jerusalem with a crowd exuberantly calling out Hosanna {save us!} onto the deep darkness of betrayal, denial, abandonment, and execution by the empire. It is a hard and harsh transition; if we are paying attention, it must be. Even as we make our way through the heartache of the days ah...

Those of us in this branch of the church would almost certainly respond, 'and also with you.' For the final Wednesday Lenten Service, peace was the highlighted Fruit of the Spirit. Quite honestly, when I come up with these Lenten themes, they are not fully developed plans. Rather, a course for us to negotiate over the weeks. So, peace… If you were ...

What? Is it Palm Sunday? You never know what you might see out the window. A tree walking by? Thank you for the gift of a grin! Pastor Leah 

Well, of course there are words but are they always adequate? Quite often when people attempt to share a face-of-God encounter, the articulation falls short of the experience. After all, is it even conceivable that we can contain the Divine with our human proclamations? A moment. Tender mercies. Joy. Love. Even a sunset, are there enough ...

I'm curious, what do you remember of your faith-travels? And how do you remember? As it turns out, we have a rather large supply of commemorative plates stored here at Immanuel. These mementoes were created on various anniversaries as souvenirs for those celebrations. All these years later, there remains a plentiful stock-pile. My Pastor-...

Did you give up something special or yummy? Did you add charity or service? How are you marking these forty days, this long journey to Easter? When I asked Church Council the question, one of them disclosed that they had an empty tomb as part of their daily contemplation. {Yup, the one in the picture.} Besides the huge tomb that I had the oppo...