A Message from Mark  May 12, 2026 Hopefully Mark McCormick, General Presbyter   What comes to mind when I mention HOPE? Some might have noticed that I have been ending my email communications with “Hopefully,”. I have been thinking about
Read More

A Message from Mark  4/13/26 Is This Real Life? Mark McCormick, General Presbyter   The question has been asked so many times in wildly various scenarios. “Are you for real?” There was a well-known video of a little boy in
Read More

Ponderings of the General Presbyter of the Presbytery of Sheppards and Lapsley Sue Westfall March 30, 2026   Blessings in this most Holy of Weeks as we observe Jesus’ last week of life and his redemptive death before his glorious
Read More

November 4, 2025     “Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us.” Hebrews 12:1   If you were to come to my apartment at
Read More

October 6, 2025     “Generosity is not what God wants from us. It is what God wants for us.”   Yesterday, we joined the global church in celebrating worldwide communion. I love the communion tables on this day resplendent,
Read More

September 8, 2025 I was invited to attend a Summit last week in Minneapolis entitled “Faithful Futures: Guiding AI with Wisdom and Witness.” The Summit was an ecumenical collaboration of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, the United Methodist Church, the Episcopal
Read More

July 14, 2025 Sue Westfall   Yesterday, the Common Lectionary served up as the gospel lesson, Luke 10:25-27. The parable of the Good Samaritan. Many of the preachers in this presbytery preached powerfully on this passage lifting up the pivotal
Read More

May 20, 2025   Christ is Risen. Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia! Greetings and blessings in this Eastertide. We see signs of resurrection life such as at our presbytery assembly last week when we experienced the extravagant hospitality of our
Read More

April 21, 2025   Christ is Risen! Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia! The Presbytery of Sheppards and Lapsley celebrated the resurrection of Jesus Christ with glorious music, stirring sermons, Easter egg hunts, and the ancient tale of that first Easter
Read More