Harrowing Of Hell

Endings: what will we do with our fear?

July 7, 2013, Diana Bender preaching

Today, we just heard the end of the book of Matthew. Within 3 weeks, I studied carefully the end of Luke, the end of John, the end of Matthew. At the same time, I experienced the end of my job and a major life work, and the end of a big phase of my parenting career. I think God is trying to get my attention. Something about endings maybe?

Blessing in the Storm

June 24, 2012, The Rev Kate Wesch preaching

In a world of specialties and advanced degrees,
it’s easy to defer to the “experts” on all manner of topics –
from medicine to child rearing, to public safety and technology.
Why, just this past week,
I heard a story on NPR about the two people
killed by grizzly bears last year at Yellowstone National Park.
After 25 years incident free,
it seems people have become complacent about the bears.

According to the report,
“Park officials say visitors sometimes take safety for granted,
in part because they’re used to visiting zoos and amusement parks,
where nature is much, much more controlled.
So Yellowstone is trying to get the word out about bear safety.”

Yellowstone spokesperson, Al Nash warns,
“I fear that some visitors believe that if things were dangerous,
we, the National Park Service, would somehow control it.
That’s not the case.”