Bruce's Thoughts

  Yipee! Cooler temperatures, new routines, changes all around us - it’s like a new beginning. Have you had a chance to get out and see some of the autumn colors around the valley and state? Peggy and Peggy and I attended the Presbytery of Western Colorado meeting in Durango the other day and the colors of the leaves were extraordinary. Don’t you just want to lace up those boots and get into nature? Me too! With this change in the season we might want to plan some time and activities with our friends at church. In another week our Session will meet and discuss plans for the future, what to do, how to do it. Keep your eyes and ears open for new things being announced on Sundays or on our social media. Wouldn’t it be fun to Trick or Treat for Lift-Up around the end of the month? There are many people in our valley who can’t afford food these days. This would be a good way for us to help those in need. It is also a good chance to meet some of our new neighbors as well as have fun with...

Is it back to routine for you or do you miss those days? In the book of Ecclesiastes we find the idea that there is a season for all things. If there is a season for all things, then we should expect that things are going to change, once again. We can find in our faith, a way to navigate those changes with joy and peace. Our faith, which is our understanding that God exists and is involved in our life, allows us to open ourselves to the workings of the Holy Spirit. When we take some time to listen to that ‘still small voice’ within us, we often find that we can learn to not “react” to what is happening around us. Life is happening all the time and there will be good and bad days. However, we know that God is with us no matter what. I’m not suggesting that we stop paying attention to what is going on in the world (although that is tempting) but that we learn to be “observers” of what is happening. When we take a step back and not take it personally when something happens, we are obs...

  It’s a hot time in the old town tonight! Context is everything! I hope you are staying cool this summer. Fortunately there are many different ways to keep cool when in Glenwood or your community. You can spend some time at the community center, which by the way you can probably get to by taking a bus, which is cool--as in air-conditioned. You can spend time at the library and not only read a book or two you can learn things on computers, even about computers. One of my favorite places to cool off is at the hospital, Valley View is one of the places in town that people can go to for refuge to get out of the heat. If you haven’t been there in a while, take some time to look around and see that there are lots of places to sit in a quiet place and cool off. One of the other ways that you can be cool is to attend one of our gatherings. When you want something different to do look at the church website at glenwoodspringsfpc.org and check our calendar. We have gatherings happening on S...

    Discomfort is a natural part of life. We often try to dismiss it when we are aware of it. Your body is amazing and was created to self-correct when we pay attention, listen to what is uncomfortable. Discomfort is a tool we can use to manage who we are and who we were created to be. By identifying our feelings, both emotional and physical, we open ourselves to opportunities to grow and mature. I’m writing this article from a place of discomfort, I’ve spent the last week in Italy. I don’t speak the language and so I’m faced with a certain amount of discomfort every day. Oh sure, I have my translation app on my phone, which has been very helpful! Besides not being sure what I ordered for lunch this discomfort helps me see choices before me. I can choose to close off and stay the way I am (but the discomfort will remain) or I can choose to use this discomfort to grow by engaging in community and allowing others to help me improve my understanding of the language and vocabulary...

    April may be the busiest month of my year. Seems like there is something going on most days of the month. I know that we are supposed to be springing forth and blooming, I pray I have the energy to get everything done! If your view of the month is similar, then we are on the same page. Once we get through Holy Week with Maundy Thursday offering a shared meal and worship experience (6:00). Good Friday, which offers us a chance to worship together in an ecumenical way with our friends at the Methodist church (7:00) for a Tenebrae service remembering Jesus’ last hours before his death. It is a very meaningful service that I hope you can share with our sisters and brothers in Christ. Easter morning we will wake up to  breakfast prepared by the Men of the Church (8:30), and an egg hunt following worship and Sunday School.   Then we will be back in the swing of things as we resume our usual schedule of activities and mission work. There is a place for you to ...

March 2026 By now you know that one of the major points of my ministry is to remind us that change is happening right now and will continue to happen in our lives. This change is physical, spiritual, emotional, mental, economic, … you get the point. We can’t help it, it is the way we were created, created by a God who loves us and only has good in mind for our future. We have kicked off our Lenten Season in the church and now it is time for us to buckle down and get some internal work done. If you aren’t sure what that means perhaps you can come check out the Bible Study which meets at 2:00 p.m. on Tuesdays or you could try the Men’s Group which meets at 8:00 a.m. on Wednesdays at the Valley View Cafe on Blake Street. You know that many of us meet up twice a month for a shared meal first and third Wednesday evenings at the church. Jesus calls us to follow him. What does that mean? Do we have to give it all away and live      in the desert, no. But we do have to be intenti...