Pastor's Devotions by Tim Harris

As I mentioned in an earlier Pastor’s Devotion, back in early October Kim and I visited the Greek island from which my grandparents had come, the island of Lesvos. While there we visited an organic olive grove and olive oil factory. It was a great experience—in spite of all the walking and climbing we had to do among the olive trees. We learned a lot about olive trees, the cultivation of olives, and the production of olive oil. One thing we learned is that, it takes about 40 years for an olive tree to produce enough olives for harvesting. That’s a lot of time. (There is a saying: “One plants grapes for themselves, but olives for their children and grandchildren!”).  As we drove around Lesvos, everywhere we turned there were olive trees. We were told that the southern part of the island alone had 12 million of them! That’s a lot of olives trees! And that’s a lot of olives! It’s no wonder one of the things Lesvos is known for is its olives and olive oil. (The other is ouzo—but that’s...

This week here in New Jersey, water restrictions were put into place due to drought conditions. Although we’ve enjoyed some terrific weather, the continually blue skies have meant a lack of rain. September 2024 was the third driest September on record, followed by an October that had record low rainfall not just for the month of October, but a record low for any month. And thus far the November has not been any better—just a tenth of an inch.  I realize that we are not the only ones facing a lack of rain. And ours is not nearly as severe as it has been in other parts of the world (and hopefully will not be). When Kim and I were on the island of Lesvos, Greece at the beginning of October, we were told their last rainfall had been April 10. And they still have not received any substantial rain. Parts of South America (e.g. the Amazon rainforest in Brazil) and southern Africa have faced long-term droughts. Some places have been devastated by a lack of rain. I think we’d all agree, we ...

Have you ever worried? I know you have. We all worry about the stuff of life, at times even falling into full-blown anxiety. It’s a very human response when we feel as if the future is uncertain and may even hold for us the possibility of negative circumstances. The more I talk to people today the more I realize that worry and anxiety have become the order of the day.  People are worried about the economy, wars that are taking place around the world, climate change, and the politics of the day. On a more personal level, people are worried about their jobs, the well-being of their children, relationships that seem to be falling apart, whether or not they’ll have enough for retirement, and so much more. If our candidate didn’t get elected, we worry. If our son or daughter is struggling in school, we worry. If our workplace announces layoffs, we worry. When we hear about the bomb that was dropped, we worry. When the doctor gives us a bad report, we worry.  And we do so with good ...

On our recent trip to Greece, and specifically to the island of Lesvos, Kim and found a pottery shop filled with beautiful handcrafted pottery. Inside was an older man setting up for the day with whom I began to speak in my very minimal Greek. I told him that my grandparents were from the island and from the town that his shop was in, Mantamados. After a bit, he brought some pieces out to show us, and when I picked one up I realized it was yet warm. It was right out of his kiln. He then signaled for me to follow him into his workroom, showing me the kiln from which the items had just come. What I found out next astounded me: he was a fifth generation potter.  I couldn’t imagine that his trade had been passed down to him through so many generations. That meant that his craft of making pottery had begun with his great-great grandfather—which may go back as far as the late 1700’s. To me that’s astounding! To think that somewhere along the line there was a father who taught his son the...