By Scott Dickison Reading the by-now-infamous Pew Research Center’s report on the state of religious affiliation in America this past week, I was taken back to a conversation I had as a divinity school student with an undergraduate considering ministry….
Setting the table
By Scott Dickison With the arrival of our first son about a year and a half ago, my wife and I have been more intentional about creating our own family holiday traditions. So last Easter, our first together as a…
We’ll all end up in Rosemary
By Scott Dickison If you ask the Lanier clan of the west side of HW 121 near the border of Immanuel and Candler counties in South Georgia (not sure about the other Lanier clan, who hail from just across the…
How can you love God but hate your neighbor? You can’t.
By Scott Dickison For those of us in the Western wing of the Christian family, yesterday was the first Sunday in Lent, which began last Wednesday and is the 40-day season of fasting and preparation leading up to Easter. But…
Who’s blessing whom?
By Scott Dickison Norma is one of my favorite church members. I’m sure pastors are not supposed to have favorite parishioners just like parents aren’t supposed to have favorite children, but hear my confession. I could go on and on…
A ‘Matthew’ kind of year
By Scott Dickison Yesterday was a lesser-known holy day tucked within this Christmas season. The 28th of December is kept within the church year as “Holy Innocents’ Day,” or more traditionally, “Childermas.” The “Children’s Mass,” remembers the account from the…
The hope button
By Scott Dickison There’s a little button on the wall in the birthing center at the big hospital in town, down the street from our church. I’m told that other hospitals in town and probably other places have a similar…
The season to ‘stir-it up’
By Scott Dickison I recently learned of a tradition in the Anglican Church that celebrates the final Sunday before Advent as “Stir-Up Sunday.” Apparently the name “Stir-Up Sunday” comes from the opening words of the collect for the day in…
Recovering Allhallowtide
By Scott Dickison My wife and I recently received a note from the church where our 1-year-old son is enrolled in a Mother’s Morning Out program encouraging parents not to dress the children in Halloween-themed attire. Guess he will just…