~Subtlety~ The swallows may show up in San Juan Capistrano but the parrots return to Pomona and parts of the Inland Empire. Every Fall, flocks of parrots return to our area, flapping and squawking their way across the sky. It’s a sign that Fall is arriving. Their appearance signals a
Continue reading~Ancient Wisdom For All Time~ “Charity is no substitute for justice withheld.” Guess who wrote that? Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.? Dorothy Day? Nelson Mandela? They are all Christians who wrote and/or said words very similar to these words, but the person who wrote those words preceded all of them
Continue readingLeft Hand Remark 14 days in Cuba By Rev. Mike Fronk Many people love to travel internationally, seeing new places, experiencing local culture, trying exotic foods. All this and more can be yours on a good trip. These were some of the outcomes on my trip to Cuba but it
Continue reading~Olympics~ They make it look so effortless. Some of them absolutely fly through the air, whether it is on the balance beam, the bars, the vault or the floor. Many people have watched with utter amazement the gymnasts at the Olympics. We all know, however, that these athletic feats
Continue readingMy friend was visiting family in Arkansas last year when Emmanuel AME church people were brutally attacked and murdered in a Bible study at which they’d welcomed their killer. Conversation about the “rebel” flag surfaced. She was told that it represented their history, the lives of ancestors lost in war
Continue reading~Beauty~ My heart is aching. I can hardly keep the tears from pouring out of me. There is so much ugliness. I turn off the TV so I don’t have the visual playing in my mind’s eye like a rerun that won’t go away. Getting pulled over because a light
Continue reading~After Orlando~ “I won’t go to your church because it’s too liberal.” Someone recently shared that this comment was made about First Christian Church Pomona. More specifically, it had to do with the fact that our ministerial intern is openly gay and that the congregation is open and affirming. The
Continue readingBen Bohren is preaching very soon and when I read his sermon title “What Does Your Church Stand For?” my first thought was “With WHOM Does Your Church Stand?” FCC Pomona is more and more a place of relationality. Relationships with God, Christ and with people are primary. Issues come
Continue reading~Protecting Our Memory~ A deeply held fear people across the world share is the fear of losing their memory. We lament the loss of recognition in family or friend whose mind experiences the wasting of dementia. We grieve amnesia in people we know and we fear our own forgetfulness. Why
Continue reading~Elders on Evangelism~ Candidates for ordained ministry meet with the Committee on Ministry of our Region in order to get approval for ordination. Among the many requirements is a set of 16 competencies which the candidate is supposed to be proficient, in conversation and action. Ginger Eckeard, current chairperson of
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