News and Updates

In July, as I was taking my first walk through the Nave of the Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea, there was a middle-aged man sitting quietly in one corner. As I passed near him headed for one of the doors in the Narthex he blurted out: "Thanks for letting me just sit in...

Dear People of Bethesda-by-the-Sea, It was early on a Saturday morning. I was preparing a quick breakfast and trying not to wake my family with rattling pans before I set out on my day. I did not hear or see but rather felt a presence. "Hi, Daddy," said Mary Blair,...

The soundscape of worship at Bethesda has evolved with our pandemic protocols over the last year. We now have organ music at the 8:00 a.m. Sunday service, the organ renovation is well underway, and the choir has adapted to singing in masks indoors and outdoors. The...

The Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea is a community of people dedicated to building the kingdom of God “on earth as it is in heaven.” It’s a family made up of members from Stuart to Wellington to Boca Raton and to right down the street in the Town of Palm Beach. In the...

Several years ago a middle-aged man came out of church on a very normal Sunday morning. He had an unusually big smile on his face, and he shook my hand profusely and said, “About seven minutes into your sermon, you said, ‘Now that’s the first part, now I want to focus...

I’m sure you know the story. The people of Israel flee slavery in Egypt, and God leads them through the wilderness, taking the form of a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. I was struck recently by a passing reference to this account. In particular,...

Last week, something shifted in the cosmos. In a year of unprecedented events and continued pandemic uncertainty, there was more. Simone Biles, US gymnast with thirty-two Olympic and World Championship medals, unexpectedly withdrew from all but one competition at the...

The Patriarch Isaac faced a forlorn period in which the Israelites had been through a tough journey. Isaac’s response was to “dig anew the water wells which had been dug in the days of his father, Abraham, and which the Philistines had impeded after Abraham’s death.”...

Dear People of Bethesda-by-the-Sea, I write on behalf of the wonderful clergy and staff of Bethesda and the lay leadership who are looking after the safety of our congregation during and following the worst of the Covid pandemic. As I'm sure you have heard, the CDC...