Pastor's Devotions by Tim Harris

This past Thursday, Levi James Harris was born to my brother John and his wife Kivian.  He is John and Kivian’s fourth son, my 10 th nephew (on the Harris side of the family), my children’s 13 th cousin on that side of the family, and my parent’s 16 th grandchild and 12 th grandson! In other words, there are a lot of kids, and especially boys, on my family’s side!  In spite of the fact that Levi was born a bit premature (about 34 weeks), he weighed in at just over 5 pounds and was breathing on his own.  Of course, he will remain in a neo-natal unit for a couple of weeks. But, we thank God for his life as we look forward to the way he will one day interact with us all as a son, grandson, nephew, and cousin.  In our hearts we have already welcomed him into the family.  Someday, however, he will be more than a son, grandson, nephew, or cousin.  He will go on to be a friend, a fellow student, and co-worker. One day he may be a hus...

When we use the word “pilgrimage” I know we are normally speaking about a trip to a religious site such as Jerusalem or Mecca, for religious purposes.  Usually such trips are a once in a lifetime event.  But as I made the commute to my office in Queens today, I couldn’t help but think of the millions of people who make a daily pilgrimage to their places of work in Manhattan and other parts of NYC.  Statistics tell us that almost 2 million people commute into Manhattan every day, drawing more commuters than any other county in the nation.  All one needs to do is try to cross the George Washington Bridge, pass through the Lincoln tunnel, stand in the middle of the Port Authority Bus Terminal, or catch a subway during rush hour to get a feel for the mass of people making their pilgrimage each day to an office, school, hospital or some other place of work in the City.  (And, that’s not even considering the tourists who are moving about!) As ...

This month my daughter, Joanna, is graduating from high school.  That has made this month both very exciting and very exhausting, for her and for us (i.e. Kim and me).  Last week was prom (for which she looked absolutely beautiful!). This week was a track dinner, an AP English Action Fair, and an awards ceremony.  But not only has it been about the number of events occurring, we all realize that just about every part of this year, and especially this semester, has been a last in Joanna’s high school career. There has been the last football game (as color guard), the last school musical, the last track meet, and the last orchestra concert.  And such has been the case not just for Joanna, but for Kim and me as well.  After all, we have been with our kids in the high school since Jonathan was a freshman (2005) and in this school system for 15 years.  When it comes to the high school, Kim and I have been to eight years of conc...