News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
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As we approach another Christmas, the birth of the Christ Child, how should we celebrate? It is more than Santa and his reindeer, more than sugar fairies dancing in our heads, more than the estimated $1.1 trillion spent in 2023 and more than the annual pilgrimage to church. As we examine the story in the Bible, what are the implications and how shall we then respond to the child in the manger? Let me share with you four practical implications that the gift of Christmas can... Full story
Politics are a necessary way of organizing our society around the values we hold dear. We all have political decisions to make. But if we lose sight of what our values are, we allow political parties to determine them and often we vote for the lesser of two evils. Politics are to be lived out. We can make a political difference in our own neighborhoods and towns. Whether our neighbors are Republicans, Democrats, or Independents, we are called to organize our values around... Full story
Have you heard the phrase “Seeing the world through rose-colored glasses?” It’s a phrase we might not use to describe many people these days. But what it represents is a perspective, a worldview. This worldview shapes the way we view reality and ultimately our behavior, even the experience of our behavior as we interact with our world. I wonder, how often do we critically think about what has shaped our perspective? Historically, people often developed their worldview based... Full story
As we approach another Easter, millions will celebrate an event that offers hope. Resurrection. Others question the reality of this resurrection, reducing it to another religious holiday. Many recognize how our world seems broken. We struggle to find solutions; hope seems to be diminishing. These troubles — whether economic, political, sociological, or psychological — are very apparent to all. They are communicated to us daily (24/7) via all forms of media. Sometimes to an... Full story
How do you connect with God? Do you even want to? At Sisters Community Church, (SCC) the first part of the mission statement I shared with you last week is to Connect with God. We believe our commitment to this first step helps us to fulfill the other two steps—Care for People and Cultivate Community. As a pastor at SCC, and a member of the greater Sisters community, I have enjoyed helping others connect with God. While hearing individual stories, which are many and... Full story
It might be said that I grew up in community. My parents divorced before my first birthday, and Dad and I went to live with my grandparents. My dad was the youngest of their 11 children, and we all lived together in a big three-story house. Aunts and uncles and cousins lived on the first floor. Dad and I and my grandparents and an uncle lived on the second floor. On the third floor were more aunts, uncle, and cousins. It seemed like the original big fat Greek family. While I... Full story
As 2022 ended, The Nugget ran a section honoring those who died in 2022. Men and women who mattered to the community, in both large and small ways. However, my mind immediately went to those who were left behind, the spouses, the children, the parents. Are they alone? Is someone reaching out to them? Is someone sharing their grief? Whose responsibility is it? Our culture of giving special attention to the deceased individual is honorable, but what about the surviving loved... Full story
When I was a kid growing up, my dad would often say to me, “Where are you going?” or “Where have you been?” These questions would bring a pause for reflection. They brought about thoughts of purpose, identity, values. Often they would stimulate some changes in behavior. Sometimes even become New Year’s resolutions. As we enter a new year at SCC (Sisters Community Church), I think they are pretty good questions to ask of ourselves as a congregation. What is the role we want t... Full story
As we look back on our country’s beginnings, a majority of us would agree, the Declaration of Independence was foundational to the success of our nation. History confirms this consensus, assuring us that abiding by the self-evident truths that “all men are created equal” should help everyone in the pursuit of Life, Liberty, and Happiness. We organized around these truths to create a just society. Creating a cultural consensus seemed to make sense. Today we face a conse... Full story
The ancient philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, and Epicurus spoke a lot about relationships. How these relationships were connected determined what they called “soul happiness.” They also knew that this was central to the human experience of finding purpose and productivity in life. The organizing of these relationships in our society was the role of politics. Politics were to promote human flourishing, what they referred to as “The Good.” While the philosophers often d... Full story
Religious liberty is one of the fundamental components of our society. The “separation of church and state” is what made the founding of America so revolutionary. But what is the “separation of church and state,” actually? Many who came to America sought religious tolerance and the freedom to choose their religious denomination or basis of faith. There’s no doubt that when our founding fathers talked about religion they held to a Judeo Christian biblical faith, assuming... Full story
