Every year when the crystal ball drops at Times Square on New Year’s Eve, New Yorkers welcome the New Year with the hope that it will bring health, happiness, and success. For many, however, those dreams don’t come true. The death of a loved one, a severe illness or hospitalization, a job loss, or a divorce are among the many traumas that people face each year. Some of these adversities carry over from year to year.

As we approach the Third Sunday in Lent, we are going to be digging into a topic that is on all of our minds—the economy. What went wrong? Who (or What) is to blame for the current mess? What is a Christian perspective on this massive, complicated, finicky thing that plays such a huge role in our lives?

Lent is upon us. It is a season for reflection, repentance, and renewal. It is a time to think about life and faith and God.

Lent is coming.  On Ash Wednesday, February 17, FAPC will have two services (one beginning at 12:30 p.m. and one at 6:00 p.m.) marking the start of this holy season.  We will be offering ashes to those who desire them.

This past Wednesday, I asked my barber, a quiet Italian guy at this classic, red-and-white twisty pole, barbershop on Lexington, what he thought about stress.  “Peter, what gives people stress?”  After a few more snips, he responded, “Too much work, and not enough work.”  I thought that was a pretty good answer.

Are you happy?  What makes you happy?  Is feeling happy the most important thing a person can feel?  This past week, I have been thinking about happiness.  I have been carrying around two books on the subject.  The first is The Happiness Hypothesis by Jonathan Haidt, a professor of psychology at the University of Virginia.  Haidt traces our understanding of happiness through different cultures and down through human history.  It is a complicated and fascinating journey.

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) recently announced that it has approved a $200,000 grant to Hôspital Sainte Croix (Holy Cross Hospital) and an affiliated nursing school in Léogâne, Haiti.

Why did Christ die on the cross?”; personal questions.

It is with a heavy heart that I offer the following prayer for Haiti:

This Sunday is Baptism of the Lord Sunday.  It is not your most well-known Sunday, but it’s a good one.  It is the Sunday when we transport ourselves to the Jordan River and plunk ourselves down on its banks to watch Jesus get baptized by his fiery-tongued cousin, John.  It’s a dramatic moment when Jesus goes down by the river to pray.