by Rebekah Simon-Peter | Dec 31, 2019
When a machete-bearing assailant broke into a private Hasidic home to “get” the Jews who were celebrating Chanukah there, his move was both horrific and ironic. That the safety and merriment of a home could be violated by such hate is unthinkable. That it happened at...
by Rebekah Simon-Peter | Dec 17, 2019
If you are a last-minute leader, you’re not alone. You’re not the only one putting finishing touches on a worship service, sermon, play, piece of music, bulletin or outreach effort. In fact, you can be forgiven for thinking your timing is right in line with the...
by Rebekah Simon-Peter | Dec 23, 2018
This Christmas, my husband I will celebrate the holiday surrounded by a variety of family and friends. Most of these folks have an unusual characteristic in common: they are recovering addicts and alcoholics. Their length of sobriety ranges from 10 days to 30 years....
by Rebekah Simon-Peter | Nov 30, 2018
What to do when your church doesn’t want to celebrate Advent? When they rush into Christmas? Let me answer that question by posing another one. Spoiler alert: this is a curmudgeonly response. Here’s my question: Is it really so bad to sing Christmas Carols for a whole...
by Rebekah Simon-Peter | Dec 21, 2015
Last week, an interesting discussion broke open among a group of pastors I coach…would they stick to a safe, traditional telling of the Christmas story? Or would they shake it up and include more challenging aspects of the story? Rightly told, Christmas is a powerful...
by Rebekah Simon-Peter | Aug 21, 2013
Just as Christians celebrate Easter and Christmas every year, so Jesus and his family—along with their relatives and friends—celebrated Passover every year. It was a big to-do. Each spring in the Hebrew month of Nisan they trekked from their home in Nazareth up to...
