I have not been a Californian for nearly thirty years, but my former home state still fascinates me. On Election Day Californians approved their Proposition 30 by a 54%-46% margin. They decided to raise the taxes that every single one of them pays. Prop 30 had a provision for an income tax surcharge on those earning more than $250,000 per year, but the measure also raises the state sales tax meaning that every person who pays for goods or services in California will be paying more as soon as the election results are certified. According to the new law, they will be paying for the state’s schools. They hope to raise $6 billion a year. Continue reading →

C.S. Lewis is reported to have said of this father that he was a man “wed to a dull routine.” Lewis’ brother Warren wrote, “(Our) father had an almost pathological hatred of taking any step which involved a break with the dull routine of his daily existence.”

I have been thinking about dull routines this week because mine has been broken and, while  I would not call it a pathological hatred, I don’t like it at all.

It seems so petty in the midst of so much destruction and hardship not far from here, but I am distracted more than I wish I were by the inconvenience – the break in my dull routine – that the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy has brought into my daily existence. Our disruption is only in daily routine. We lost power at our house about the time Sandy made landfall 85 miles to the east of us. As of this morning we are still in the dark and it’s getting a little cold. But the church, a mile away, never lost power, so coming to work has been about the same as ever. And the church family is, well, it is family. We have been taken in by some wonderful friends whose lights are bright and water hot. Continue reading →

It all depends on exactly when and where it was, but most American adults grew up in an era when “everyone” was a Christian.  As recently as the early 1990’s, well over 85% of all Americans self-identified as Christian, 60% or more as Protestants and 25% as Catholics. A recent, and much talked about, study by the Pew Research Center has taken the religious pulse of the country and the news confirms what many of us have suspected. As the New York Times headline put it, Percentage of Protestant Americans Is in Steep Decline, Study Finds. Continue reading →

There’s enough of the news junkie in me to delight in the last few weeks of the presidential campaign. I read the columns, watch the polls and, for sure, watch the debates.

Because I am an American citizen, I will vote on November 6. Because I am a Christian, I will vote as a Christian and my faith will inform my vote. Jesus is Lord in the voting booth as much as anywhere else. As a pastor I encourage you to vote and to vote as a Christian. I cannot and will not tell you that (D) or (R) is the Christian vote. In fact, I am pretty sure that (D) and (R) are, or certainly can be, a Christian vote. Pray before you vote. Continue reading →

Sunday’s bulletin will note that the flowers in the chancel have been given by Ebenezer Diabene in honor of his family’s arrival in the United States for the very first time. If all goes well, Ebenezer’s wife, Diana, and three of his four children, Yvonne, Pearl and David, will arrive from Ghana tomorrow and be with us in worship on Sunday.  Many of you met oldest son Kingsley in August when he was here for a short visit. He has returned to Africa for his university studies.

Some of us have gotten to know Ebenezer since he became an LPC member four years ago. Those who have not yet spent time with him have a wonderful experience in store for them. Ebenezer is an incredibly faithful man with an amazing story of God’s grace and providence that has brought him – and now, finally, his family – to the United States. Continue reading →