Pastoral Letter

“No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” John 15:13. Jesus gave his life for each one of us, his friends, because he loves us like no other. This is the example he gave us, of the kind of love we were to have for each other, neighbor and stranger. Because of Jesus, we no longer have to die on a cross, or fear death because of his sacrifice. However, loving people the way Jesus expects us to...

“Let us outdo each other in being helpful and kind to each other and in doing good.” Hebrews 10:24-25, Living Bible Friends in the Faith, In the narratives of the Hebrew Bible we see the ways in which God ordained the community to be organized and governed.  The books of Exodus, Deuteronomy, and Leviticus offer a vast array of rules, guidelines, and laws that would define life in community for the Hebrews.  Most of those rules were...

“But the greatest of these is love.” I Cor. 13:13 Friends in the Faith, Last month I wrote about our church’s core values as we express them in service, worship, and mission.  One of our core values is LOVE.  In the short time I’ve been with you at Totowa I have seen glimpses God’s love amongst us. Just last Sunday, I was deeply touched by the sweetest moment when we gathered around Zelda, Carol Van Houten’s faithful furry companion,...

Friends in the Faith, Last month the church’s leadership had a holy conversation.  A holy conversation is a candid, open, and guided conversation about a difficult or important topic with the intention of listening and diving deeper every time we have it.  We started the process of devising a mission and vision for our ministry, by considering the things we value at Totowa UMC.  After sharing many thoughts, we have narrowed our values...

“Honor the Lord with your substance and with the first fruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.”  -Proverbs 3:9-10 (NRSV) Happy New Year!  What beautiful counsel and promise to start the New Year with a solid step!  New beginnings inspire us to imagine better versions of ourselves:  physically, emotionally, and most especially, spiritually.  I invite you to look...