In Dec’s Video Blog, Pastor Marvin talks with members of Eden’s new COVID-19 Direct Response Teams, exploring what the daily jobs of Contact Investigation and Contact Tracing, Quarantine and Isolation Support, and Health Education involve.
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In this month's video blog, Pastor Arlene reflects on the art and practice of voting in 2020...
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I watched the first U.S. Presidential debate last night with growing horror. It was unlike any other I’ve ever watched in over 40 years of paying attention to US politics, more closely resembling a high school brawl or a fight than than the mostly civilized exchanges and the merely-pointed barbs we’ve seen in the past.
I woke up this morning remembering “debate” as I learned it in high school during the 1970s when competitive debate was almost as popular as football. Maybe it was the era or maybe it was the fact I lived in Oregon where rain made almost any indoor activity extremely popular in the winter. For whatever reason, I and several hundred high school students spent many a long Saturday at debate tournaments, trying to best each others’ arguments for and against the annual debate topic, which was typically something like: “Resolved: The United States should have a national health care system.”
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For this month's video blog, Pastor Marvin shares a video tour of the stunning Zion National Park with the words of Psalm 104, praising God for both Creation and the spirit of all those who are responding to the call to help those affected by COVID-19. Take a moment to enjoy the inspiring views and give thanks and praise to our Creator.
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After our 155th Annual Meeting last Sunday, your Pastoral Team was marveling at how archaic and unfamiliar parliamentary procedure is to most of us these days.
We found ourselves remembering times when it worked well, especially at very large meetings, and times when it didn’t work well, which is often the case when many and contradictory amendments are offered to the main motion.
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In the ‘60s Eden Church leaders marched in Selma, traveled with Freedom Riders throughout the Deep South. Today, our faith asks no less of us, our faith compels us to take a stand against the unwarranted brutality of law enforcement officers toward Blacks and People of Color. We stand in solidarity with our community leaders and members, and demand change to systems of oppression. We stand resolved to partner in the dismantling of institutional racism. May justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.
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Remember when you were a kid and went swimming and were assigned a swimming buddy? Let’s not forget to check on our buddys and make sure they’re more than treading water, but have all they need during this time.
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The butterfly has always been one of my favorite images for the transition from Lent to the celebration of Easter. As Jesus emerges from his death into the new life of the resurrected Christ, so too does the caterpillar emerge from its cocoon, no longer an earth-bound creature that crawls but a winged beauty that inspires and delights us. In ordinary years, my focus, and subsequently the focus of some of the Church’s Easter art projects, has been on the beautiful butterfly that emerges. This year, as we enter our third week of “sheltering in place,” I find myself wondering what exactly happens inside that darn cocoon.
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On Ash Wednesday, Feb 26, we joined Christians around the world on a journey into the wilderness of Lent. Our liturgical journey mirrors Christ’s 40 days in a metaphorical wilderness, and the Hebrews’ 40 years in the Sinai desert.
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February 2nd is Candlemas, or Día de la Candelaria in Spanish. Candlemas is often looked over in Protestant tradition. It is a feast day that occurs 40 days after the birth of Jesus. It’s known as the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord Jesus, and we’ll hear more about this presentation in the Student Minister, Nadia Tavera’s Sermon this coming Sunday.
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