News and Updates

Dear Friends, I love the context of Lent, sandwiched between the glow of Epiphany and the exuberant celebration of Easter. The contrast of moods makes each of these seasons a little more poignant. The liturgies each have some seasonal variations, from the Eucharistic...

Dear Friends, As I reflect on my short time here at Bethesda-by-the-Sea, I am in awe of the love that you all share for this beautiful church. Your generosity of time, talent and treasure is truly inspiring! Lighting the Way, the 2024 Annual Campaign, is well underway...

Dear Friends, There are few things in our deeply divided world that people of all faiths and denominations can agree upon. One of these points of unity, however, is feeding the hungry.  Scripture commends us to be generous in sharing food with the poor. In Matthew 25,...

Dear Friends, We’re almost halfway through October. That means a few things are true: the days are getting shorter, the dew point is dropping, and our few minutes of fall weather are almost here. Pretty great, right? It’s also an exciting time in parish life. Friends...

Dear Friends, Numbers matter, and they used to make sense. But it seems the older I get, the more the numbers do not. Such as this week. My wonderful, Godly, beautiful wife Carolyn and I are celebrating 30 years of marriage, which would not have been hard to...

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...