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Hi, it’s Pastor Rich and Sandy Marshall, here with you in the re-opening days of Oregon, as we transition from “closed” to “open”.   We have missed being with you.  You know the question,  “Where were you when … ?”   Like during a big storm, or a sports championship, or an historic national event. …

Hello Friends, I want to take a few moments to share some pastoral thoughts that I believe will serve our congregation in these particularly challenging times. As well, I want to offer two points of pastoral direction for our congregation. These points of pastoral direction are intended for the church that Denise and I lead and…

I’m writing this weeks HELLO FRIENDS while sitting alone in the middle of the church lobby. I may or may not be humming the 1975 classic by Eric Carmen, “All by myself, don’t wanna be, all by myself, anymore….” I trust I’m not alone in saying how much I miss the gathering together of our…

This month holds a lot of different emotions for me. The spring usually (not always) brings with it a break from the rain and cold weather of the late winter. Indeed, the sun seems to peek out and give us a taste of summer that I am always eager for. It’s always good as a…

This season has been hard and holy. There are things I don’t want to go back to when we have moved beyond this time. There are things I want to stay the same. I don’t want to go back to tendencies to take time with friends and family for granted. I don’t want to return…

I grew up in a pretty liturgical religious environment. Stand. Sit. Knell. Rinse. Repeat. I knew what to say, and when to say it. Honestly, there is much about my religious upbringing that I am so grateful for, and many wonderful aspects that remain in my heart to this day. One of the common liturgies I committed…

So much is in flux right now. So much is changing that it can feel almost dizzying. How many of you have gone all day thinking it was, say, Tuesday, when it was actually Wednesday? We’re all a bit discombobulated, aren’t we? Slightly off-kilter. Too much is changing too rapidly. Just this morning someone asked…

She just needed to talk. And, boy oh boy, did she talk. For more than 45 minutes I stood on the street corner and talked to an elderly woman that I did not know. Here’s the story…I went for a brisk walk a few days ago. I needed to get out of the house (can…

We all tend to live hurried lives. Kids, spouses, grandkids, friends, social media, work and the daily upkeep of taking care of ourselves consumes us. Maybe you have recently retired and you are left with a busy mind and all this space to fill that you have no idea what to do with! All that…