Spring highlights nature’s generosity. Or, rather, God’s generosity through nature, as the harshness and hiddenness of winter give way to the abundance of spring's flora and fauna before the dryness of summer and the fall of autumn. Spring celebrates beauty, excess and liberality. If one poppy is beautiful, why not one hundred or one thousand? Spring is an annual reminder through nature of God’s abundant goodness and generosity toward all he has made, including and especially you and me – and even our neighbors, who we may or may not appreciate. As the scripture affirms, the rain falls “on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matthew 5:45). The word "generous" shares the same root as "genesis," referring to "birth" and "beginnings." Its earliest usage dates to the 16th century, when it was used to describe someone of noble birth or high-born qualities. By the 17th century, however, to be generous came to refer not to one’s bloodline, but to the virtues of liberality and unselfishness t...

In 1909, a small but growing group of congregational believers, after meeting for some time in various locations, including private homes and the Baldridge Opera House, (which in recent years was Por Favor Mexican Restaurant and is now Hacienda Cazadores on the corner of La Mesa Blvd. and Palm), broke ground for what would become La Mesa Central Congregational Church near the corner of Lemon and Third Street. The two-story building, comprising a large meeting room, kitchen, and storage room on the lower floor, and a small chapel and multipurpose room on the upper floor, opened its doors for regular Sunday services and other events in February of 1911. Rev. Charles Hill, who had been serving as a congregational missionary to the Hawaiian Islands, was called back to the mainland to be the first pastor of Central Congregational Church in their new building. God blessed this original group of CCCers, and as they grew in number, plans were made for a new building; this time for a true sanc...

As we forge into the fog and freedom of a new year, many of us consider making New Year’s resolutions. And while most of us think better of it before we get too carried away, we have at least considered the possibility of taking better care of our bodies, reforming our finances or securing a ticket for that trip of a lifetime, just to name a few common resolutions. Whether you are a resolutioner or not, have you ever considered that most of the new commitments we contemplate each January are self-centered rather than other-centered? We tend to focus on improving our self-image or satisfying our curiosity, rather than on growing in compassion and generosity or on being a better friend, neighbor, or family member. This isn’t to say that these two categories of resolutions are mutually exclusive. If we take better care of our bodies and finances, we may be able to serve those around us with more energy and resources. However, we live in a cultural context that thrives on creating discont...