Nearer, My God, to Thee

O Lord, I have always found you closer in the light streaming through branches than through stained glass, in the sound of leaves underfoot than the harmonies of organ, in the scent of humus and moss than incense on the altar. Why, then, do I neglect to come here, into this first chapel, first sanctuary […]

The Use of Creation

I don’t think Pa Davis would have cared too much about the last post I published, where I suggested we all pause in our work, go outside, and stare at the sky. Pa, my great-grandfather, was a farmer his whole life, and as much as he loved being outside in the fields and forests, he […]

The Enjoyment of Creation

One of my earliest memories is being at the family farm, at my grandparents’ house, and Dad taking me into the front yard to show me the Big Dipper. I was maybe five years old. He pointed it out to me and explained the constellations as pictures the stars shape out, and how we can […]

Happy Earth Day

“The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world and its inhabitants too. Because God is the one who established it on the seas; God set it firmly on the waters.” -Psalm 24: 1-2 (CEB) Happy Earth Day! The first Earth Day was the brainchild of […]

Saving Souls or Saving Bees?

I have often said that you cannot write a job description for a pastor. In the seven years now that I have been in pastoral ministry, I have been with families as their loved ones passed from this world into the next, I have played games and made crafts with kids, I have stirred stew […]

Christians Should Care About Creation

I was a quiet and well-behaved kid, for the most part. I kept to myself, read a lot of books, and always tried to follow the rules. It was out of character for me, then, and quite audacious, when I told my second-grade teacher, “You’re wrong about that.” It was in a science lesson […]