November 5, 2025

November 5, 2025

by | Nov 6, 2025 | PS from PS

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“Zaccheus was a wee little man….a wee little man was he.”  

If you grew up in church and are older than 40, there is a good chance you could sing the rest of this song from memory.  Zaccheus, not the tallest guy, climbs up a tree to see Jesus.  Jesus sees him, talks to him and invites him to dinner.  The relationship begins!  And that invitation, meal and conversation change Zach’s life because he commits to giving half his stuff to the poor and righting all the financial wrongs he’s ever done!

That’s some invitation!  Some conversation!  Some relationship!  

Some transformation.

Invitation into relationship with Jesus and a community of faith can transform people’s lives.  And when that transformation occurs, it can/should/might rearrange our priorities for our time, our possessions and our presence.  

I had this happen when someone invited me to Haiti years ago.  After the earthquake in Port au Prince in 2010, I “climbed up a tree” to see what we could do to help.  I found a local church that had a mission team stuck down there and showed up at their church to offer support.  Instead of giving me a task to do to help, the staff person at the church just invited me into relationship with the faithful people that live in Haiti.  And it transformed my life.  Every minute I’ve spent there, prayer I’ve offered, relationship I’ve built and dollar I’ve shared has changed me.

Has someone done that for you?  Have you done that for someone?  Either way, my guess is that transformation occurred.  Probably on both ends of the relationship.

I want to invite you this week to look up at the trees.  Not for the falling leaves, but for those that might be struggling to see.  Those that might be searching for a glimpse.  Those that might be too afraid to get too close just yet.  Those that need an invitation and a relationship.  Those that might be looking for something, but not sure what this Jesus character is all about.  Those that have gifts to give to the poor, but need a connection to do it.  Those.  

And then, call their name.  Start a relationship.  Begin a conversation.  Offer trust to come out of the branches.  Invite them to a meal.  Tell them your story.  And listen.

And then watch how God can still transform today!.Lord, may we look to the trees today.  Amen.  

Still in One Peace,
ps
October 29, 2025

October 29, 2025

by | Oct 29, 2025 | PS from PS

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“Let us confess our faith together using the words of the Apostle’s Creed….”

We do it together as a community almost every worship service.  And Sunday at St. Paul’s Eggertsville, we did it together with two young women as they celebrated their Confirmation in church.  

Back in the day at Resurrection Lutheran, where I was Confirmed, the whole confirmation class, me, Matt, Ray, Penny and Sue, had to memorize the Creed and then recite it alone in front of the Council and then the church during the Confirmation service.  The church community didn’t say it with us.  We had to do it alone.  

So we memorized.  Practiced.  Messed up.  Rehearsed.  And then did it live.  

At that point of my age and brain function, I was pretty good at memorizing and spitting things back out.  To this day, I still know most of the lyrics to Michael Jackson and Men at Work songs from the ’80’s.  Not that helpful in the big picture of life though.  I could memorize most everything short term.  But I’ve forgotten most of those things.

Now at St. Paul’s, we don’t make the kids memorize the Creed anymore and recite it alone.  We changed that a few years ago when during one Confirmation service, unintentionally, the whole congregation chimed in with the kids as they started saying the Creed.  And I loved it.  It was a perfect mistake.  

Instead of feeling like they were being tested or doing something on display, the kids heard the voices of “all the saints” around and behind them.  They could hear the faith, the doubts, understanding and the confusion.  They could feel that they were part of something bigger.  They were united with a Lutheran Christian community.

The Creeds of the church are not there for us just to memorize and regurgitate.  They are there to remind us of a powerful, creative, redeeming and present God.  They are there to connect us to a faith that we may just be starting to understand.  They are there for us to know we are part of something bigger.

As you read through the Creed again today, know you’re not reading it alone.  You’re reading the same Creed that everyone who opened these Devo’s are reading.  The same Creed churches proclaimed together last weekend and will next weekend.  As you read, you’re connected to a larger community and a larger God, even if you’re on your own today.  

Confirm that faith today, connect to that God and community, using the words of the Apostle’s Creed:

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
      creator of heaven and earth.I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,
      who was conceived by the Holy Spirit
      and born of the virgin Mary.
      He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
      was crucified, died, and was buried;
      he descended to hell.
      The third day he rose again from the dead.
      He ascended to heaven
      and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.
      From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.I believe in the Holy Spirit,
      the holy catholic church,
      the communion of saints,
      the forgiveness of sins,
      the resurrection of the body,
      and the life everlasting. Amen..

Lord, thanks for reconnecting me today.  Amen.  

Still in One Peace,
ps
November 5, 2025

October 22, 2025

by | Oct 23, 2025 | PS from PS

ps from psWe’re a few days away from our annual celebration of the Reformation.  Once a year on Reformation Sunday, we remember and celebrate what the Holy Spirit did through Martin Luther and the movement that began the Protestant Reformation.

Luther and those that followed CHANGED the church!  All because of reading Scripture and hearing about God’s grace for each of them.

Quick review: Luther was a Catholic priest.  He read the Bible, especially verses like Ephesians 2:8-10 where it says “for by grace you have been saved through faith…..not because of works…”  This new understanding of what God was really trying to tell us in the Scriptures propelled him to detail out 95 things he thought should be changed to match up the church better to these grace filled Scriptures.  Church didn’t like his ideas.  Church kicked him out.  Luther kept reading and preaching about God’s grace.  People started hearing, maybe for the first time, that they were unconditionally loved by God and that good news alone could change their lives and therefore they could change the world.  

And 500 years later, here we are.  Lutherans.  Methodists.  Episcopalians.  Baptists.  And more.  Each church still changing and trying to change the world.

So if I asked you today: “what would you change in the church/world today?”  Could you match Luther’s movement?

Seems like a lot for a rainy Wednesday in WNY with the Bills on a slight losing streak.

So…. what if we scaled the Reformation back a tad.  To a reformation.  And just looked in the mirror today and started a new reformation right there.  In us!  Just in us.

What if you re-read that Ephesians 2 text: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.”

Do you hear it speaking directly to you?  Just you!  That you are unconditional loved by God!  With that in mind, what would change in us?  What could change through us?

Knowing that we are unconditionally loved by God, how does that change how we feel about ourselves?

Knowing that we are unconditionally loved by God, how does that change how we love….forgive…support our family and friends?

Knowing that we are unconditionally loved by God, how does that change how we deal with stranger or those that don’t look like us, come from the same place or love the same way?

Knowing that we are unconditionally loved by God, and that we are empowered by that love and created to do good, how does that change the work we do today to be ministry instead of just a job or a timecard we punch?

What if we start with that reformation?  What if we move from macro-church-changes to micro-church-changes?  What if we let this good news seep into every other day of our family and work life, above and beyond Sunday?  

That would be a Reformation Celebration for sure.  And that feels like enough for a Wednesday.

Lord, thanks for the Reformation.  May the reformation continue today.  In me.  Amen.  

Still in One Peace,
ps
October 8, 2025

October 8, 2025

by | Oct 8, 2025 | PS from PS

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When I was a kid, I would strive to be in the 90th percentile.  However, if I’m being honest about my past, all my high school/college/grad school/seminary teachers are probably laughing at that statement.  If I was in the top 10%, I (and everyone around me) was actually surprised and excited.  School wasn’t exactly one of my “spiritual gifts.”

And yet in Luke’s gospel, the bottom 10% was just highlighted.  Jesus said to the one that returned and gave thanks, “Were not ten made clean?  Where’s the other nine?”

But it’s a different type of 10%.  It’s the thankful 10%.  The one that recognized Jesus.  The one that saw what God was up to.  The one that thanked God for what just happen.  The one out of ten.  The 10%.

So let me affirm for you….if you are in the 10%, maybe you’re not on the bottom.  Maybe you’re dialed in to seeing God, stopping for a moment, returning to Jesus and giving thanks.

So, what’s being that 10% look like for you today?  How could your 10%-ness reconnect you to what God just did, is doing and will do in your life?  What could your 10%-ness do for the world around you to invite them to have 10% type vision, 10% type action, 10% type thankfulness and 10% type praise in the world.

For those of you struggling to try and make it into the 90th percentile….maybe it’s not all that’s it’s cracked up to be.  “What can we do?”  Maybe we strive instead to be part of the 10%. .Lord, help me change what I’m striving for and be part of the 10%.  Amen.  

Still in One Peace,
ps
November 5, 2025

October 1, 2025

by | Oct 1, 2025 | PS from PS

ps from psHas your church ever had arguments? Has it ever disagreed on important issues? Has it ever had strong personalities that have gotten under the skin of some of the other members? Have the same sort of things happened in your family or in your workplace?   In light of these situations, have you ever asked: what can we do?  If any of these questions are true for you, then you match up pretty well with the early Christian church.Our Adult Forum group, which meets on Sunday mornings at 9:00 AM and is open to all, is going to start looking at the book of Acts. It’s one of the most interesting books in the Bible because there are sooooo many incredible personalities contained within the stories. It captures some of the greatest highs and lows of trying to figure out how to follow Jesus, and share this good news of God’s grace with the world.  Maybe that early church also asked: What can we do?Here’s just a couple of the tough situations that can be found in this book: Acts1:15-22 – they have to pick a new leader after Judas’ betrayal; Acts 2:4-11 – people gather from many different countries and can’t understand one another because of different languages;  Acts 2:43-47 – no longer satisfied with worship in the Temple, tensions in developing new ways of worship  & being God’s chosen people; Acts 3:1-10 – figuring out the role of healing in the church as some questioned the right of Peter & John to assume role of healing that had been Jesus’ forte;  Acts 4:36-37 Barnabas – what was his role, struggle with who was in charge and calling the shots.

And that’s only up to Chapter 4!!!! 

If you’re reading this, and you are a missionary at St. Paul’s, you are part of a church that has lasted almost 200 years. I’ve only been there for a few of them, but I’ve known of several tough conversations, theological challenges, tough personalities, and challenging decisions that had to be made. I can only imagine over the almost 200 years just how many have come up.What can we do?  

One of the things I love about the church community, especially St. Paul’s, is that when we are at our best we are able to have all the hard discussions, all the hard personalities, all the theological challenges, and all the tough parts of following Jesus and still say What CAN We Do with a feeling of being ready to step to the plate?  What can/should/will we do to be part of this imperfect system and yet still share God’s good news?Many people that I meet in my travels throughout Western New York, from Bills games tailgates to pubs to the Erie County fire service to local neighborhoods, have told me stories about things that have pushed them away from Church. They are stories very similar to the stories in Acts.  I wish I could fix some of the scenarios they named, but I know that most of them are just part of being church itself. Because church is filled with broken and searching and imperfect people. Just like me. Just like you.  And we’re all just trying to figure out how to follow this incredible savior.Continue to be part of the church that is being created, reformed and reshaped.  Jump into the Adult Forum if you want to hear some of these stories. Jump into the book of Acts on your own if you’re looking for a way to start reading the Bible. Jump into the stories of some of the most improbable that do the incredible. Because 2000 years later, we’re still trying to figure it out. I only pray that God can use this wacky group of followers that we have today to continue to make sure the world, and everyone in it, knows that they are unconditionally loved by God. Lord, we’re a work in progress.  Stay with us as we struggle.  Amen.  

Still in One Peace,
ps