Category: Santa Rosa
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Not Exploited, But Emptied
Today I woke up thinking, “Who really knows how to do Palm Sunday?” After my mind ran through various possibilities, I ended up worshiping with the Episcopalians. When I arrived, an usher standing at the door of the sanctuary handed me a thick pile of paper and directed me to the courtyard. People smiled politely…
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A Singing Sermon
Last Sunday, I went to church. Well, truth be told, it was online, but I showed up nonetheless and felt like I had been there. I had intended to attend in person, but I got the time wrong and by the time I figured it out it was too late to get dressed and make…
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The Wellspring
If you’ve been following my posts, you know that during sabbatical I’ve been visiting various worshiping communities on Sundays. Last week I went to a church near my home, but today I went to the church closest to where we live. Wellspring Church, also known as the First Samoan Congregational Christian Church, happens to be…
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Close Proximity
As a pastor on sabbatical, one of my practices has been to visit churches and other spiritual communities. This week I decided to look and see what were the closest churches to my home in Santa Rosa. One of them is a non-denominational Evangelical church and I rode my bike there for the 10:00 a.m.…
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Sex Outside My Door
I walked out my front door yesterdayAnd the scent of sex clapped me full in the faceI looked around to spy the sourceHalf-expecting a cassanova crouching in the bushesAll I found was a shrubCovered with pink coquettes‘Looking for a good time?’ it asked me‘Uh, maybe,’ I said‘Well buzz on over here and give us some…
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Woman Eating Breakfast
There is a womanWho sits alone at her table next to her picture windowAnd eats breakfast – Like most of us – But this woman lingersOver poached eggsKeeps vigil over buttered toastPonders two pork linksRecalling every morning the one loveWith whom she was linked for so long She waits and watches over her backyardGlancing through…
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While Still So Much of the World Works
While still so much of the world works,While Piner Creek still giggles as it flows,While the coastal oak guards its leaves and the valley oak gives them away,While the hooded merganser and her mate return to this brook bend again this year,Let us not fail to love that which asks nothing from us but close…
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Gettin’ Jiggy with the UU’s
One of my sabbatical practices is to attend a new worshiping or practicing community each week. Today I visited the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Santa Rosa, or UCCSR. The church meets in a former movie theater and it is a gorgeous and comfortable space. This was their first Sunday back in person after many weeks…
Almost a Conversation 