Pastor's Blog

Norm's Notebook


Norm standing

Occasional musings from our pastor, Norman Dalton

These articles, usually written for the monthly church newsletter, represent my personal views, and the church should not be held accountable for them. In fact, I suspect some folks would disagree with me on occasion.


I invite your feedback - All in the Spirit of Christian love and faithfulness, I hope.


Click on the title of any article to read more than the summery on this page.


Warm regards,

Norman L. Dalton, Pastor

The reality of retirement

The reality of retirement is starting to sink in--you'd think that it would by now, as much as I've talked about it. But there is nothing like…

It's coming fast!

I don't know about you, but for Leah and me, retirement is approaching far faster than anything else we've ever experienced. So many of you have been…

Merry Christmas

- well, not quite yet, but all too soon for most of us! This will be our last Christmas together as pastor and people. It is a bittersweet time for…

What lies ahead for us

I am now officially and certifiably an “old codger.” I turned 65 at the end of October. I don’t feel 65. I don’t think 65 (whatever that may be).…

Six months left together

I write this with a certain sadness and anticipation - We have a mere six months left together as pastor and people. The Sunday after Easter (March…

Weeds!?

Weeds!?

Summer reading & study

I've just finished reading an interesting book--Where God was Born, A Journey by Land to the Roots of Religion, by Bruce Feiler. It's a wonderful…

Lent 2007

I ran across this the other day in my files. I wrote it to someone with a drinking problem (hence the first paragraph), but it applies to many areas…

The only reason to give to the church...

"If you spent more than is in your budget Don’t hassel us" were the exact words on an unsigned pledge card mailed back to the church just before…

Ordinary Time

On the church calendar, it’s called “ordinary time.” The color is green - the ordinary color of living plants. It's the period between Epiphany and…

Reflections on a hurricane 2004

We are all tired, anxious, and only slightly amused by cartoons of election night threats from a projected hurricane Zachery. Half the Sundays in…

Seven steps into the future...

  Healthy things grow

      Growing things change

          Change challenges us

              Challenges force us to trust God

          Trust leads…

As we mature!

"These things happen to us as we mature," are not words we want to hear from our physician. It has been my privilege to hear them twice in the last…

My hodge podge room

In my rather plain room with it's hodge podge furniture of different styles, we gather, talk, and together we learn the secrets of the universe, as…

Spent manger straw

What an exciting time December is! 'Tis the season of the Living Creche, the Christmas cantata, and our wonderful candlelight Christmas eve services…

I am a rare blood donor

A Few days ago I received a phone call from Community Blood Centers of South Florida. They needed my blood for a woman undergoing chemotherapy. It…

"Interdependent Independence"

A prayer for the nation

"Almighty God, ruler of all the peoples of the earth, forgive, we pray, our shortcomings as a nation; purify our hearts to see and love truth; give wisdom to our counselors and steadfastness to our people; and bring us at last to the fair city of peace whose foundations are mercy, justice, and goodwill, and whose builder and maker you are; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."

- Woodrow Wilson

A sermon preached by Pastor Norman Dalton for  Independence Day 1996

Jeremiah 18:1–11; Psalm 33; Romans 13:1–7; Luke 20:20–26

Martin Luther King,…