Rev. Jason B. Elder August 4, 2026 The Hardest Thing to Do ↓ First a word. Thank you for subscribing and reading the newsletter. If there is something you'd find helpful for the newsletter or bible website, feel free to reply to this email. I'm always interested in knowing what pain points people experience in ministry. One of mine was finding liturgy that fit. So, I spent 6 years writing and organizing liturgy so I'd have it at the ready. That's allowed me to share it on the site. So, feel...
18 days ago • 3 min read
Rev. Jason B. Elder July 21, 2026 Christian Words ↓ Hi Reader, Every family, like every church, has their own set of words. Growing up in Mississippi, I’d regularly be asked by a friend if I could “carry” them to town or school. Not give them a ride or take them. My Midwestern wife did not understand that phrase the first time someone in my family asked her to carry them to the store. Why would they ask me to do that to them? Every region has its own dialect, and so does the church. We say...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Rev. Jason B. Elder July 7, 2026 And Also With You ↓ It happened during the passing of the peace. Usually, people respond to “The peace of Christ be with you” with “Also with you,” or “Thank you, Pastor,” or even “Your mic sounds weird today.” Not him. Not Tommy. He responded with: “So, how does a person get baptized in this church?” We agreed to talk after the worship service during coffee hour. Tommy has been coming for a little while. He hit rock bottom, as they call it. A friend in that...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Rev. Jason B. Elder June 30, 2026 How Odd! ↓ Last year, I decided that if I ever started a newsletter, it would be named "Jason's Odd Newsletter." Odd weeks, odd subjects. Today I want to share something genuinely odd. Recently, someone in the church made a misstep. The result was confusion, aggravation, frustrated emails by some, and some anxiety about a deadline. I called the person who made it. After a brief hello, they said: "It's my fault. I thought that was the right thing to do, but it...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Rev. Jason B. Elder June 16, 2026 Spent. Well Spent. ↓ I recently officiated the funeral of an adult child of a congregant. Her child grew up in the church, made a life, met a love, and succumbed to a rare cancer. The afternoon together was thick with love and support as family, friends, and church members gathered. As is often the case, a funeral makes one think of life. Your life. Your ONE life. It's a gift and in the midst of that gift there are moments of grace, where we receive things we...
2 months ago • 3 min read
Rev. Jason B. Elder June 2, 2026 A Face in the Crowd ↓ Yelling. Yelling of all types. The coach: What do ya say, kid? Keep your form. Don't chase. The teammates: You got this. Head up. You know what to do. The opposing team: Be ready. The parents in the stands watching the baseball game: You got it, guys. I observe this as I sit among the parents, only 40 feet away from first base. Every parent is cheering for the kids on either side. It's Jr. High baseball - low stakes. Well, we say it's low...
3 months ago • 4 min read
Rev. Jason B. Elder May 19, 2026 The Woman Who Named God ↓ I was standing among the crates of various peppers at Adam's Fairacre Farm, a beloved place here in the Hudson Valley. The woman next to me was picking up and putting down the colorful ones. She laughed and looked at me, "I need to stop being so picky and just choose one." We laughed, went about our lists, and I thought nothing of it. Then, on the other side of the store, we found each other again. She had a long list too, she said....
3 months ago • 3 min read
Rev. Jason B. Elder May 5, 2026 What the Witnesses Saw ↓ There is a word that has changed meanings on us. Martyr. We use it now to describe someone who dies for what they believe. That, however, is not where the word started. In the early church, a martyr was simply a witness. They were someone who testified to what they had seen and heard. The word is the Greek martyros, and it shows up throughout the book of Acts to describe people who stood before councils and said, this is what we saw....
4 months ago • 2 min read
Jason B. Elder April 21, 2026 Further Down the Road: Emmaus There is a moment on the road to Emmaus that I keep coming back to. Two disciples, walking away from Jerusalem after those scary and confusing days , not yet knowing what Sunday morning had meant. A stranger joins them. He walks with them, asks questions, listens. And then, beginning with Moses and the prophets, he opens the Scriptures to them (Luke 24). They don't recognize him. But something happens inside them while he talks. They...
4 months ago • 2 min read