News and Updates

Dear Friends, One of my favorite Peanuts comic strips unfolds this way: Charlie Brown is worrying about something – as usual – and lamenting about it to his faithful beagle. He concludes by saying, “Oh Snoopy, you’re so lucky, you don’t have a care in the world.” But...

Dear Friends, “Time, like an ever-rolling stream, bears all our years away; they fly, forgotten, as a dream dies at the opening day.” You may recognize these lines as a well-loved verse from the hymn “O God, our help in ages past.” It speaks to the fleeting nature of...

Sadly, there are many individuals and workplaces today that view “work” as a punishment by God because Adam and Eve sinned. Some view work as an unavoidable necessity to be fulfilled with minimal effort. While others view work as their way to obtain wealth, status, or...

Dear Friends, Have you ever felt like something was missing in your life, something vital, healing, and life-giving? Have you ever longed to feel the warmth of God’s embrace, but weren’t sure where or how to find it? There are many ways to feel closer to God, but most...

Dear Bethesda family, Much of the summer at Bethesda is spent creatively imagining new possibilities for the coming year and beyond. How can we nourish those who are familiar, while drawing in more people to join us? And now I’d like to share my excitement about some...

Dear Friends, Two short years ago, a Harvard study suggested that 36% of all Americans feel “serious loneliness.” Half the lonely young adults surveyed stated that no one in the previous two weeks had even asked how they were doing. And just a few months ago, the...

Dear Friends, We have had some wild storms here lately, each one followed by some of the most beauti-ful skies, including the recent rainbow directly over the church. Seeing this reminded me of a favorite story of mine in the Bible, “Jesus Walking on the Water”, from...

Dear Friends, This Sunday is the Feast of the Transfiguration. Our Scripture lessons tell the story of Jesus taking three disciples up a mountain to pray. That part isn’t unusual – Jesus often withdrew for times of prayer. But things quickly took a surprising turn....

Starting this Fall, you’re going to be seeing a LOT of information about the Bethesda Center for Spirituality. What exactly is that?, you may ask. The answer is simple. It’s a place for people to find their way to God. We believe that God is at work in honest,...