Matthew 13:1-9 — Hat of a farmer

July 15, 2023

Like all of you, I “wear different hats.” They are not limited to the pastor’s hat that I wear on Sundays and other days. One of the hats that I wear is a farmer’s hat. I started to wear it when one of my children decided that farming was to be his vocation. Farming, like many vocations, brings about a mixture of feelings. They can go from disappointment to joyful satisfaction with various emotions in between. One of my many joyful moments in farming was the first time I both planted a field and then harvested it. It was a unique feeling that is difficult to explain. Still, I ...

Renovo native talks about bringing St. Joseph’s back to life

July 15, 2023

RENOVO — Hundreds of people took advantage of what St. Joseph’s Parish in Renovo offered the community as well as Blue Jays alumni over the weekend. The church combined its yearly festival along with its Quasquicentennial Celebration, marking 125 years of the holy building at its current ...

The Dalai Lama celebrates 88th birthday

July 8, 2023

DHARMSALA, India — The Dalai Lama celebrated his 88th birthday on Thursday, as hundreds of his supporters and exiled Tibetans thronged his hillside Indian headquarters in Dharamsala. Artists played traditional welcome tunes as the Tibetan spiritual leader arrived in his open mobile van to ...

Footsteps to Follow: Doubt and God’s word

July 8, 2023

Doubt is why God gave the Word. Three bible verses help us understand doubt, which is the uncertainty of the mind, plus the lack of God’s order. The Word of God provides the answer for doubt and understanding God’s order. The first is II Timothy 3:16-17: “All Scripture is given by ...

‘There is only the sun’: This year’s Hajj was held in sweltering heat; for those serving pilgrims, there was little relief

July 1, 2023

MINA, Saudi Arabia — As hundreds of thousands of Muslim pilgrims walked in the footsteps of the prophets beneath a sweltering sun, contracted cleaners in lime-green jumpsuits held out matching plastic bags to collect their empty water bottles. It takes tens of thousands of cleaners, ...

Footsteps to Follow: Celebrate freedom

July 1, 2023

My wife and I recently retired after nearly 40 years of local church ministry. To celebrate, we took a road trip across the country. It was an amazing trip from the busyness of the Northeast, through the wide-open plains of mid-America, to the impressive mountain ranges that hid the Pacific ...