Ministers hate spring. Because that’s often when annual meetings are held which means writing annual reports. No doubt there are some who love doing this but I have not met them. You may then conclude that I am no fan, but it is nonetheless essential. We use the word ‘accountability’ a lot now, and reports…
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One thing we have all learned from the pandemic is that VUU is not the place but the people. As we get closer to when we can be with one another in person again, let’s remember the first part as much as the second. That’s why I applaud the Board for supporting the goal of…
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Cinco de Mayo makes me uneasy. It came into existence to honor a community within the US and is more popular in America than in Mexico. In recent years the Mexican community has been critical of folks dressing up in so-called Mexican clothes and drinking cerveza and tequila the way we down Guinness and Jameson…
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I should tell you about my work week, the stuff that happens between Sundays. This one is busier than usual but we hold a (virtual) staff meeting every Monday, followed by a worship planning meeting. This week I also met with the chair of the LDC on Monday to bring me up to date on…
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It was a gimmick, but sometimes they work! I offered a free mask with the VUU logo for those who raised their pledge by $10 a month over last year. Over 100 folks did so and now they are here. (We have a few extras, by the way. Feel free to ask. Price? We’ll talk.) …
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April 15 is tax day, right? We all hate it, even if we get a refund. And all that work! Hating taxes is an American tradition, of course. Gideon Tucker, a mid 19th century lawyer, famously said, “No man’s life, liberty or property are safe while the Legislature is in session.” This was back before…
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I am on the road this week, heading to Michigan to await an expected grandchild. But… BUT!.. I will be back in AZ soon. And no matter where I am physically I will be working for VUU. That’s the gift of this awful pandemic, that we can be together even when we are apart. …
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Scandalous! That’s what we say when someone really acts out. Or we used to say it. But you know what I mean. What you may not know is where the word comes from. It’s from the Greek ‘skandalon,’ which means a ‘trap.’ Think of political scandals where the media catches them in their sins –…
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“I wonder, wonder, who…. wrote the book of love.” That was a hit song when I was 5 years old, so I have no claim to remembering it when it was new. But some songs are timeless, aren’t they? Why mention this? Well, in some ways the question is universal. For lots of people, there…
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It’s time to start planning. Spring is when clergy begin thinking about the next ‘church year.’ Our Music Director, The Worship Associates, and I met this week to begin doing that for our worship ministry. Summer was foremost of course, but the big question – when will we resume in person worship – hovered over…
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