Pastor Tom's Community

I pray in the silence of my soul Surrounded by the noise of the world And the calming music of sacred choirs. And yet, there is silence. I am quiet before you, Oh God. I have no words, no thoughts, no ideas Of any consequence. I must empty myself and sit in solitude For that…

We have a choice. There is still within us the memory of blindness and sin and it holds some sort of nostalgic appeal to us. But we must remember that the misery of it all was always greater than its perverted pleasure. It was pleasurable for a season, but those seasons got shorter and shorter…

  I notice that I wrote and posted the following nine years ago. The context was different, perhaps and perhaps not. The core issues are the same and the desire for places of meeting with respect and open minded dialogue are the same. ———————————————— I must confess that I dislike controversy. I can tolerate it…

"She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more." – John 8:11 Jesus said that wheat and tares would grow together until the end of time and that in the end, God Himself would sort them out.Until that time, we are called to live…

  Photo by MILKOVÍ on Unsplash Words matter. How and why we use our words matters. A prayer of yesteryear resounds in our contemporary ears: Continue to store us away from the strife of tongues and may our tongues not cause strife. In a day of many wagging tongues and much strife and verbal violence, may we speak…

In a day when we, as Christians, feel compelled to protest our losses of special privilege, criticism, insult, offense, or false characterization of our motives, we have a role model for how to handle it. After saying all there was to say, he just went silent. He was not standing there to defend himself. After…

May you be blessed today, people of truth, souls of deep longing, heart walkers of grace, grace walkers of broken hearts, life livers and life givers. May you be blessed. May you be blessed, people of the edge, marginal pilgrims, shaky saints, trembling travelers, limping leapers, and lovers of humanity whose hands are extended into…

  There is a device at the head of my bed with which I have a love/hate relationship. It gives me a degree of comfort – the kind that comes with discipline and safety while also being an enemy to my comfort. The very name of the device evokes images of fear, terror, shock, and…

No one is going to come along with you until you start moving. No one is going to see it, get it, or understand it until you live it and demonstrate it. Do not wait for a vote of your peers or critics to start living a life of faith, compassion, or obedience to God.…

  Thoughts, words, emotions, and promptings converge and none localized around any one soul. Is altruism an illusive and allusive fantasy? All anger bleeds acid. Sadness breeds sorrow. There are remedies. Remedies require energy from tired brains. Love leaks leaky hearts. Hope demands engagement. It is costly. Grace provokes disgrace. But every alternative to love…