Life of an Ordained Geek

I'm sometimes known as the "Alpha Geek" of the Connecticut Conference UCC (and occasionally as the Minister of Magic), working for Jesus one byte at a time.

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But I Can't

“[Jesus said,] ‘As you go, proclaim the good news, “The kingdom of heaven has come near.” Cure the sick; raise the dead; cleanse those with a skin disease; cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment.'” – Matthew 10:7-8 Give without payment, O Lord? But I can’t.How will I eat, where will I sleep,if I don’t have a contract or letter of call? What do you mean, life has no…

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Story: The Sorry I'iwi

June 7, 2026 Hosea 5:15-6:6Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26 Last week an oma’o had to learn that he couldn’t judge an entire species of bird because of the bad behavior of some of them. Specifically, he had to abandon his idea that all i’iwi are evil. It’s a pity that this week’s story is about an i’iwi that, well, had the bad habit of behaving badly. This was one of the i’iwi that would have given that…

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Watch... Me?

[Jesus said,] “Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.'” – Matthew 9:13 Would you like to know what blessing is? asks Jesus:Watch me. Would you like to know what light is? asks Jesus:Watch me. Would you like to know what righteousness is? asks Jesus:Watch me. Would you like to know what love is? asks Jesus:Watch me. Would you like to know what honesty is? asks…

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Story: Those Birds

May 31, 2026 Genesis 1:1-2:4a2 Corinthians 13:11-13 A lot of the honeycreepers in the mountain forests have brightly colored feathers. I think I’ve mentioned that before. The ‘apapane and the i’iwi are bright red and black. The ‘amakihi and the ‘akiapola’au are bright yellow. The ‘elepaio has these fascinating speckles in its feathers, even if they aren’t all that vibrant. And then there’s the…

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Praise the Poet

God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. – Genesis 1:31 Praise the Poet, Breath and Wind and Word,who movement on the waters stirred up lightand night and land and sea, stars and planet whirlingon the cosmographic page. Praise the Poet, summoning the earth to green abundance,summoning the seas to swarm with…

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Story: Whatever It Was

May 24, 2026 Acts 2:1-21John 20:19-23 I don’t know what it was that he found in the tree. Maybe it was a collection of seeds. Maybe it was some burrowing insects. Maybe it was material for a nest. Whatever it was, he was the only house finch to know about it, and as far as he knew (or I know) the only bird in the neighborhood to know anything about it. “Wow!” he said to himself, but not very…

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Story: Bully's Progress

May 17, 2026 1 Peter 4:12-14, 5:6-11John 17:1-11 He was a year or so old, and he wore the red and black of an adult ‘apapane. He still thought of himself as young and growing and learning, and truly he was all of those things. He was also the target of a bully in his generation and his neighborhood, and that wasn’t such a good thing. There are, I’m afraid, bullies among the ‘apapane…

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Story: One Might Know

May 10, 2026 Acts 17:22-31John 14:15-21 This story didn’t take place on our island, because although one of the birds in it lives on Hawai’i, the other doesn’t. I took this picture on Kauai, though both birds also live on O’ahu. The one on the left, swimming in the water, with its red beak and red on its forehead, is an ala’e ‘ula, or Hawaiian gallinule. The one on the right, standing on long…

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Looking Carefully

For as I went through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them an altar with the inscription, ‘To an unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. – Acts 17:23 Not looking carefully, I typed “Kiijubg” as first wordfor the title of this poem/prayer. It’s not a word I’ve seen before; I’d struggle to define it,and truthfully…

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Story: Courage

May 3, 2026 Acts 7:55-60John 14:1-14 The ala’e keokeo – also known as the Hawaiian Coot, and I guess it is pretty cute – lives along the shorelines, particularly enjoying the old fishponds built by the Hawaiians because the edges are rich in the water plants they like to eat. “Ala’e” means forehead, and “keokeo” means white – so the Hawaiians certainly called it by its appearance. One young…

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Flexible Hope

“But filled with the Holy Spirit, he [Stephen] gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.” – Acts of the Apostles 7:55 I wonder about Stephen, what he knewwhen he was brought before the council ofthe priests. Did he expect they’d hear him out?Or see the door as gateway to his grave? Oh what a fool he was to speak the wordshe did if he had hope they’d…

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Story: Good Advice

April 26, 2026 Acts 2:42-47John 10:1-10 What do you need to know if you’re an ‘elepaio? It helps that most of the ‘elepaio are very curious, so they tend to ask themselves the questions and then find out the answers. Is it sunny on that side of the tree? Are there bugs to be had in that stand of koa over there? Can I catch a bug in mid-flight? One young ‘elepaio was having some difficulty…

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Gate

“So again Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.'” – John 10:7 It’s not your most compelling image, Jesus. Ina section where you said, “I am…”three times, how many hold this one in memory?To say the truth, I barely do. And yet a gate is comforting. It guards a home,a sheepfold, or a soul from harm.It’s hardly perfect, since a thief may climb the wall:They’ll…

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Story: Seeing Further

April 19, 2026 Acts 2:14a, 36-41Luke 24:17-35 The ‘apapane was young. He didn’t have his red and black feathers yet. That was OK. He knew they’d come. He was content even with the somewhat odd look of red patches on his mostly white chest. He’d be wearing red and black soon. It was also OK that he’d learned to fly and fly pretty well. There had been some awkward moments in the learning, even…

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Story: Surprise

April 5, 2026 Acts 10:34-43John 20:1-18 Sometimes a bird on the mountainsides just takes a liking for a particular ohi’a tree. I don’t know whether the nectar tastes better, or if you get a particularly crunchy kind of bug, or if there’s something else that gets a bird excited. This is about an i’iwi who had a favorite ohi’a tree. He like other trees as well. When the mamane were in blossom,…

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Story: All the Things

April 5, 2026 Acts 10:34-43John 20:1-18 You’ve heard, I know, that there are some birds that winter with us here in Hawai’i, and that they fly to Alaska for the summer. Those birds might prefer to fly on a big jet, like you and I, but they use their own wings, even though some of them are pretty small birds. The kolea are the best known, but we’re also saying farewell to hunakai, ‘ulili, and…

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Story: The Colt

March 29, 2026 Philippians 2:5-11Matthew 21:1-11 Today’s story doesn’t take place in the forests of Hawai’i. Nor does it take place in our time. It starts in a small village not far from Jerusalem, and it takes place on a day we’re familiar with because we celebrate it each year. Surprise! It’s Palm Sunday. He was a very young donkey. He’d only lived in one place, and he’d only really…

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