I was recently in the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho where I’d joined my brothers for their mule deer hunt. Being in the mountains and being disconnected from the news – family, church, community and the world alike, as we had no cell service – put things in...
We recently received an update from Solomon at our sister church in Ethiopia. Here is the letter he sent. As you may know, September marks the start of the new year in Ethiopia, as well as the opening of schools for student registration. We took this opportunity to...
What’s on your mind these days? If you’re like me, there’s probably at least one thing that has you worried, at least a little. But over and over in the Bible, we get the message, though, that we should not fear, that we should not worry. But how? In Mindscape: What...
Take a look! We have more than three dozen new additions to our church library! These 37 books are on display, so you can't miss them. Come on up to the library and check them out. You can’t miss them: They have bright yellow "new" stickers on their spines. Click here...
Thanks to everyone who competed in our first chili cookoff at the First Pres Courtyard. Here are some scenes from the cookoff and the kids' Nerf battle.
The Harrisonburg International Festival brought the community to our downtown Harrisonburg neighborhood, and we were there with activities and refreshments.
I’ve been thinking about expectations and particularly about the kind of expectations we should have of one another in the Church. What sparked this line of thought was a video we watched as part of our officer training where we heard about a man who had been active...
If you've been wanting to be part of our Sunday school groups, Oct. 6 would be a great day to get started. That day, we have two new classes, one on how to better engage in politics and another on the defining characteristic of grace, that will begin a seven-week...
It is said that we live in an “age of anxiety,” so what should we as Christians do in the face of so much anxiety? One thing I do is turn to Psalm 42. In Psalm 42:5 and again in verse 11, the Psalmist asks, “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed (anxious)...
The Bible says there is “a time to be silent and a time to speak” (Ecclesiastes 3:7b), but how do we know which time it is? When it comes to talking about Jesus, it is a time to speak. And I mean that literally. Lots of people love the quote from Francis of Assisi,...