Dear Holy Comforter,

One of the first things most visitors notice about Holy Comforter is how involved our children are in our services as readers and communion servers participating joyously in our singing and the gospel procession, and welcomed to receive communion after their baptism. As it says in our worship guide each week:

Dear Holy Comforter,

It was delightful to be with you last Sunday on our birthday as a congregation! I was surprised at how strangely normal it felt (as evident in the fact that we forgot to take any pictures to document the event), but I suppose that is a testament to the fact that we’ve been praying and meeting together for almost two years–first as a small group, then as a small group + monthly services, and now as a church plant meeting weekly with two small groups. It’s really amazing to reflect on the slow, steady growth of our community, which has always been supported and empowered by prayer and our affection for each other.

It was such a delight to be with all of you at our commissioning service on Sunday and I am looking forward to our first weekly service this Sunday at 5 pm at Hyattsville Mennonite Church, which will be followed by a potluck. You can sign up here.

Merry Christmas, Holy Comforter!

I pray that each of you would have some space in these busy days to rejoice and meditate on the coming of Jesus Christ, God with us. I look forward to seeing some of you on December 28 when we host Incarnation Anglican at Hyattsville Mennonite Church and I’m praying for those who will be away and traveling.

Dear Holy Comforter,

Since this week invites us to enter more deeply into the joy of the Lord, I wanted to reflect in this letter on singing—and how it opens our hearts to joy. But I also wanted to talk about singing because in the coming months we'll have an a Acapella Sunday (that means singing without instruments) every 4-6 weeks to give our lead parish musicians, Anna Yong and Joel Chan, a chance to rest and to remind us that worship is the work of the church and not just a few gifted individuals.

Dear Holy Comforter,

I’ve been celebrating Advent for about 20 years now and one of the things I appreciate most about marking Advent, but really all the seasons of the church’s year, is how repeated prayers, scriptures, songs, and traditions like the Jesse tree, take on different shades of significance each year. Every time I celebrate Advent, its beauty seeps deeper into my heart and heals a different aspect of my broken relationship with God and others.

Dear Holy Comforter,

It’s hard to believe we’re already heading into the second week of Advent. Where did the fall go?

Advent reminds us:

Christ has come.
Christ is coming.
Christ will come again.

From fall until Easter, we follow the Renewed Ancient Liturgy of the 2019 Book of Common Prayer. This liturgy is based on the words of scripture and the ancient worship of the early church.

Sometimes I’m asked what I do as a pastor, aside from leading our worship on Sunday. 

Here’s what you can expect from me as your pastor.