Pastor Grant M. VanderVelden shared this message at the funeral for Jerry W. Ewing on Wednesday, August 3, 2022. The message arises from Ecclesiastes 3:1-15 – For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, andContinue reading “Pastoral Meditation: Times and Seasons”
Category Archives: Meditations
Pastoral Meditation: Glory Revealed
Pastor Grant M. VanderVelden shared this message at the funeral for Darlene Janice “Dar” Klein on Thursday, June 2, 2022. Among Dar’s personal effects was a hand-written letter that she penned several years ago. Dar’s family shared it with me while we were making funeral arrangements, and since it provides such an intimate and heartfeltContinue reading “Pastoral Meditation: Glory Revealed”
Collateral Beauty: A Pastoral Meditation for Memorial Day
It is a weekend for remembering. And for those of us whom God has claimed in Christ Jesus, the most important thing for us to remember is that there’s life even in death – “collateral beauty,” the odd-sounding term I’ve shared with you before. Believing in collateral beauty is to hold fast to the notionContinue reading “Collateral Beauty: A Pastoral Meditation for Memorial Day”
Palm Sunday meditation: Sunday’s Coming!
The great crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord — the King of Israel!” Jesus found a young donkey and satContinue reading “Palm Sunday meditation: Sunday’s Coming!”
Pastoral Meditation: Authentic Living
Pastor Grant M. VanderVelden shared this message at the funeral for LeOtia Edna “Lee” Flage on Saturday, March 19, 2022. The Scripture lesson was Matthew 6:25-34. On one of the bulletin boards in the hallway between our sanctuary and our fellowship hall hangs a display titled “Many Gifts, Simple Giving.” It exhibits a number ofContinue reading “Pastoral Meditation: Authentic Living”
Pastoral Meditation: Times and Seasons
Pastor Grant M. VanderVelden shared this message at the funeral for Norb Palmer on Saturday, February 19, 2022. The Scripture lessons were Psalm 23, Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, and Matthew 5:3-12. Our lives arrange into a rolling litany of different seasons, rhythmic times for every purpose, surely appropriate for the moments at hand. And so it wasContinue reading “Pastoral Meditation: Times and Seasons”
Funeral meditation: What’s in a Name?
One of the occupational hazards of being a pastor is sometimes only getting to “meet” people in death. And so it goes with Kenny and me. Due to his death, I’m just now coming to know who Kenny was and what he was all about. And that saddens me. Because I’ve come to realize something that all of you already know: Kenny was one mighty special guy who made a difference in the lives of many others.
Every Person’s Way of the Cross
An ecumenical video meditation for Good Friday.
Video meditation: Lighting the Fourth Candle of Advent
“The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.’” (Luke 1:30) Of three possible responses to fear – fight, flight or freeze, Mary is, perhaps, frozen by the appearance of the angel, whose greeting and message leave her perplexed and pondering. But fear doesn’t paralyze Mary, whoContinue reading “Video meditation: Lighting the Fourth Candle of Advent”
Video meditation: Lighting the Third Candle of Advent
Sowing seeds is always an act of faith that always feels risky and feeble. How can something so small become something so beautiful, so big, and so nourishing? Some seeds won’t germinate and instead remain buried in the ground. Of those seeds that do, some of the weak sprouts must be weeded out for theirContinue reading “Video meditation: Lighting the Third Candle of Advent”