Author name: Essjay Peatoo

One of the most popular and well-loved hymns of the Christmas season is Isaac Watts’ “Joy to the World.” Not only is it common in the weeks surrounding Christmas to hear the song played on the radio and sung in the church, but the words “Joy to the World” are also frequently found imprinted on […]

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” That iconic line from the 1986 film “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” seems pretty off-base a week away from Christmas, doesn’t it? Stop and look around? There’s no time for that.  There’s shopping and wrapping to be

Years ago, a young college student was working as an intern at his college’s Museum of Natural History. One day, while working at the cash register in the gift shop, he saw an elderly couple come in with a little girl in a wheelchair.  As he looked closer at this girl, he saw that she

Flickering candles…the fragrance of evergreen…chilly winds and pink noses …vibrant purples (or blue) donning the altar…cinnamon, peppermint, cocoa…an empty manger. Ah! the treasured season of Advent is in full swing: the season of waiting, watching, preparing and repenting. It is a time of new-found hope and profound joy; the time to remember a promise fulfilled

Today we notice the use of a liturgical color that is only used on two occasions throughout the entire liturgical year: the color rose. Rose is reserved for two occasions: the celebrations of Laetare Sunday, the fourth Sunday of Lent; and today, the third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday.   The word Gaudete is the

Have you been feeling this Advent season?  Have you had regular times of stillness and wonder about God and what he did by sending his Son to earth as a baby? Are you growing spiritually after each Advent service you attend?  Are you smiling more this season?  Are you getting more rest?  Are you able

We are not very patient people. We can’t spare the time to stop and catch our breath. Quiet unnerves us; silence is a sure sign that something is wrong; reflection and thoughtfulness are luxuries. We do not live in the moment–we live in the next moment. We need to be constantly connected, online, and plugged

Mesoamerica, the New World, 1521: The capital city of the Aztec empire falls under the Spanish forces. Less than 20 years later, 9 million of the inhabitants of the land, who professed for centuries a polytheistic and human sacrificing religion, are converted to Christianity. What happened in those times that produced such an incredible and

Today we take a short detour from our Advent Journey. Our detour takes us to the town of Cáceres, a medieval village approximately 150 miles southwest of Madrid, Spain.  There have been settlements near Cáceres since prehistoric times, as evidenced by cave paintings near Maltravieso and El Conejar.   The town itself was founded by

Today (Isaiah 40:1-11) we begin a series of readings from what is known as ‘The Book of Consolation’. It consists of chapters 40 to 55 of Isaiah, and its unknown author is referred to as ‘Second Isaiah’. He is writing much later than the previous chapters, at the end of the Jews’ exile in Babylon.