Pastor Tom's Community

To Remember And that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city; and that these days of Purim should not fail from among the Jews, nor the memorial of them perish from their seed. -Esther 9:28 We walk gingerly among the gravestones that dot the pathways…

On this day in 1830 – The Indian Removal Act is passed by the U.S. Congress; it is signed into law by President Andrew Jackson two days later. Framed as compassionate, it facilitated mass genocide. Jackson justified this ignoble law and policy in his state of the Union address as follows:   Andrew Jackson's Annual…

Model of a city, detail from church altarpiece Notes: Parallels between actual towns and the Heavenly Jerusalem were frequent during this time period. From The Yorck Project.Date:1482Artist:Crivelli, Carlo, 15th cent “The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it.” A God that We Might Know There is…

"And it has made all the difference …"   Ahmed   For Unsplash+ It is certainly and absolutely, one of my favorite poems since youth, my musical knowledge was deficit in not knowing that one of my favorite choral composers, Randall Thompson, had created a musical setting for it.   Frost and his critics would ascertain…

Photo – https://unsplash.com/@curatedlifestyle   Acts 15:36-41 New International Version Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.” Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, but Paul did not think it wise to…

Fear and Trembling in Toastmasters and LifeTom Sims , Ongoing Conversation Between FriendsFollow4 min read·Just now–Share Photo by Toastmasters International is a centenarian organization (the club, not the members) that teaches leadership and communication skills in an atmosphere of fun, acceptance, dignity, and a spirit of collegiality and support. via medium.com

Photo by Martin Lednár on Unsplash The Crack that Let’s the Light Out "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us." – II Corinthians 4:7 The late Leonard Cohen is known for a number of popular secular compositions, but one of…

Photo by Sergio R. Ortiz on Unsplash   Awaken the Dawn and Welcome the Kingdom! The divine interruption is the message of good news.   Psalm 57:8 Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early. The Kingdom of God awakens us to new possibilities like a brand-new morning:  “The time is…

  Ai wrote the summary,  but …. from my sermon which was written down. It is interesting how they interpreted it. Check it out and let me know how they did.       SUMMARY The meeting, led by Tom Sims, focused on the concept of gaining a 'bird's eye view' or 'God's eye view'…