Posts with the category “letters-from-pastor-brian”

As a new year approaches, it’s natural to reflect on what the old year brought. 2024 has brought another season of change: A new mayor, new President, new Congress, and many new problems along with ne...  Read More

Now that we’ve had our dog a couple of years, I look forward to cooler weather myself because it means I can take her out for walks and runs without having to take a shower immediately afterwards! I’v...  Read More

Occasionally, I glance over old Anchor articles to see what I’ve written about recently. The theme of “what’s next” is probably the one I’ve spent the most time on, and for good reason: One of the mai...  Read More

Being the youngest of three boys growing up, I learned that pride must take a back seat to reality. I wanted to be the biggest, the strongest, the smartest, the tallest, and so forth, but reality taug...  Read More

As yet another Presidential campaign year is fully underway (it seems as if they never go away), it seems as if everything becomes politically supercharged yet again. Some days, I wonder when it will ...  Read More

Depending on what news you listen to or watch, our world is either falling apart at the seams already, or it is on the brink of falling apart. Have things always been this bad? And what can anyone do ...  Read More

Years ago, I tried planning for several years in advance. I knew that if the church stepped up a little each year, we could see some growth, and that growth could fuel the next step up, in mission, mi...  Read More

In a recent meeting, our good friend David Messick did some quick research and discovered something interesting about our community. As many of you know, our church, like most churches, is made up mos...  Read More

Now that Easter is through, we are sliding through a few special days – Mother’s Day, Pentecost, Father’s Day, and then we’ll be staring at summer again! But long before any of those days arrive, I ha...  Read More

Last month, I ended with this quote: “He who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6) I want to pick that thread up this month. Will God c...  Read More

Well, we sure did start the year off on the “left foot” (See last month’s article). We started well, and we’re continuing well, but it is a challenge, isn’t it? We began the year with communion and th...  Read More

Last month, I complained about how we shortcut Thanksgiving on our way to Christmas, and I groused about how we forget to be grateful. This month, I want to point out some of the great opportunities t...  Read More

Yes, I am that grouchy guy who complains that Christmas season starts way too early, and Thanksgiving gets crowded out. And I will be the guy who reminds people that Thanksgiving was first established...  Read More

When the pumpkins arrive and hopefully, the weather turns cooler, our church life gets busy. The groups that stopped meeting over the summer get back together, and frequently, additional activities ge...  Read More

Every time I sit down to think about and map out sermon series, I have one primary concern in mind: Whatever the season, whatever the emphasis, it needs to be about basic things, things like evangelis...  Read More

At the time this newsletter arrives in your inbox (virtual or physical), we will be in final preparation for our Navajo friends’ arrival and week of outreach. On Thursday, August 3rd, Pastor Evelyn wi...  Read More

Last month, I reported about the planned “Listening Tour.” We held it, and while it didn’t yield immediately actionable items, other than to highlight the scarcity of our ministry with children (which...  Read More

Between May 21 and June 11, we will be conducting a couple of dialogues with our congregation to begin discerning both our identity and direction as a congregation in the middle of our community, or t...  Read More

Since the last Anchor went out before the new sermon series (“An Inside Job”) began, I wanted to follow up with some practical ideas about transformation this month. When we think about transformation...  Read More

We’ve heard the saying – “Be the change you wish to see” (attributed to Mahatma Gandhi) and we get the concept, that before anything changes in the world, something must change in us. What we may not ...  Read More

As I write this article, the Virginia Annual Conference has just finished its second Annual Conference special session to vote on 34 churches to disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church. While it...  Read More

Those of you who watch or read news closely, and/or who have friends in other United Methodist churches have probably heard the word “Disaffiliation” in the recent past. Disaffiliation refers to the p...  Read More

Thanks to your efforts, God’s grace, and our community, 2022 was a blessed year in many ways. We continue to grow one person at a time, and while we continue to say goodbye to too many people, we are ...  Read More

If you haven’t heard the term yet, please allow me to introduce it: Breakthrough prayer. I have heard that term occasionally through the years, but it wasn’t until I read a book that featured the idea...  Read More