News Here you will find information on some of the exciting things going on at FCC. Visit this page often to review featured events, ongoing opportunities, and various updates from the congregation. Hang out with us this Summer! May 7, 2025 | Education, Events Scott’s Column: Stating the Faith, Part 2 Apr 14, 2025 | NewsContinuing from last week's column. You bestow upon us your Holy Spirit, creating and renewing the church of Jesus Christ, binding in covenant faithful people of all... Scott’s Column: Stating the Faith, Part 1 Apr 7, 2025 | NewsI feel that the lectionary in the last few months has afforded some opportunity for me to return to some of my core theological ideas, to emphasize them one more time. ... Scott’s Column: Leadership & Decision-making Mar 31, 2025 | NewsBack in February I facilitated part of the council retreat for Countryside Community Church. I had been asked to talk about how leadership and decision-making work in... Scott’s Column: The Stories & Relationships Mar 24, 2025 | NewsSince announcing my pastoral transition, I've used these weekly newsletter columns to survey the highlights of our fifteen years of ministry together and to offer my... Scott’s Column: Opportunities & Challenges Mar 13, 2025 | NewsWhat opportunities and challenges do I see for First Central in the years ahead? A few of you have asked me that question over the last month, so I thought I'd put my... Scott’s Column: Flourishing in Crisis Mar 10, 2025 | NewsThis post is the third in a series discussing the highlights of my ministry at First Central the last 15 years. The final period of my pastorate begins with the onset... Scott’s Column: The Fruits of Our Labor Mar 2, 2025 | NewsThis post is the second installment of a series exploring the highlights of the last fifteen years. Those first six years were full of to-do lists and goals, and you... Scott’s Column: So, Everything? Feb 24, 2025 | NewsMy fifteen years of ministry at First Central can be easily broken down into three time periods. The first begins with my arrival in summer 2010 and extends to around... Vacation Bible School 2025 Registration Feb 10, 2025 | Education, Events, Newshttps://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdMZuikxvUfX5_YoBzuzWxf-NfU098Ozp7JNeKU0fWweObvFw/viewform?usp=sharing Scott’s Column: State of the Church 2025 Feb 6, 2025 | NewsHere is the text of my annual State of the Church Address, delivered to the Annual Meeting of the Congregation on Sunday, February 9. We live in difficult and... Scott’s Column: The Cruelty Feb 4, 2025 | NewsThe first really concrete thing I noticed occurred when I arrived for pick-up of my son from the after-school program two weeks ago. Next to the sign-out sheet were... Scott’s Column: A Big & Beautiful Life Jan 27, 2025 | NewsDo we have the resources and skills we need for this age of crisis? Last week I wrote about the discussion of leadership development at Conversations, the annual... Youth Group Calendar Spring 2025 Jan 24, 2025 | Education, Events, News 2025 Spring Wednesday Evening Programming Jan 24, 2025 | Education, News Scott’s Column: How Are You Developing Your Leadership Skills? Jan 22, 2025 | NewsHow are you developing your leadership skills for our current times? That was one of the key questions of this year's Conversations gathering of United Church of Christ... Scott’s Column: A Cold Night in Zurich Jan 8, 2025 | NewsA cold night in Zurich. As historian William Estep describes it, "the chill of the winter wind [was] blowing off the lake" as a dozen men "slowly trudged through the... Scott’s Column: Two Titans Dec 30, 2024 | NewsLast week two titans of the liberal Mainline Protestant churches died--theologian John Cobb and hymn lyricist Ruth Duck. About a dozen of Ruth Duck's hymns appear in... Scott’s Column: Wicked Nov 25, 2024 | NewsThis last weekend was Wicked. I'm only playing with the slang use of the word from my youth. I really mean the opening of the new film version of the popular Broadway... Scott’s Column: More on Awe Nov 18, 2024 | NewsOften I get asked after a sermon, "What's that book you mentioned?" For our autumn series on Awe, the main text I've used is Dacher Keltner's Awe: A New Science of... Scott’s Column: A Pastoral Word for Young LGBTQ+ People After the Election Nov 12, 2024 | NewsFor young people, particularly young LGBTQ+ people. I know that the election results have left you confused, sad, afraid, heartbroken, and angry. These are proper... Scott’s Column: Gustavo Gutierrez Oct 28, 2024 | NewsEarlier this year, Jurgen Moltmann died. He was the great living theologian, at least the greatest Protestant theologian in the post-Second-World-War-Era. And then... Scott’s Column: The AI Metaverse Oct 15, 2024 | NewsLast week a handful of Nobel prizes went to people working in the fields of artificial intelligence. I just so happened to be reading a book on what's possible in an... Scott’s Column: Restoring the Light Oct 7, 2024 | NewsDuring our fall worship season, we are exploring Awe. The psychologist Dacher Keltner writes about how our experiences of awe and wonder get turned into ritual, art,... Scott’s Column: Sacred Sounds Oct 1, 2024 | NewsI've spent this lovely day with my office door open to the courtyard where I can hear the fountain running. I've been working on the vespers service for Friday night... Scott’s Column: God’s Presence Jul 23, 2024 | NewsSunday I preached about God's presence. Though it didn't make it into the sermon, that week I read a beautiful description of the presence of the Spirit in our lives... Scott’s Column: The Life of Hope–Remembering Jürgen Moltmann Jun 5, 2024 | NewsThis week the greatest living theologian died. Jürgen Moltmann was 98 years old. He did not grow up religious, but found God and religion when he was in a prisoner of... Scott’s Column: Happy 300th Immanuel Kant May 28, 2024 | NewsBack on April 22nd, I messaged Fred Nielsen, "Happy 300th Birthday to Immanuel Kant." To which Fred replied, "Will you be celebrating in a particularly philosophical... Scott’s Column: Summer Theology Book Club May 13, 2024 | Events, NewsOne Sunday before worship, Lou Lamberty said, "I read God's Monsters. I really need to talk about it." I had read the book not long before that and mentioned in... An Interview with . . . Allison Hardy May 8, 2024 | Interview With . . ., NewsHow long have you been a member at First Central? I've been a member of First Central since 2018. What is your occupation? I'm a corporate attorney at Kiewit. What do... Scott’s Column: Curious about Psychedelics & Spirituality Apr 23, 2024 | NewsSometime back in 2020, stuck at home, binging lots of Netflix, I watched the documentary Fantastic Fungi that I'd seen friends talking about on social media. What an... An Interview with . . . Sophie Feng Apr 16, 2024 | Interview With . . ., NewsHow long have you been a member at First Central? 15 years with the church What is your occupation? Professor What do you find meaningful about your work? Helping... Scott’s Column: Knowing Each Other Apr 4, 2024 | NewsHow well do we humans understand one another? Apparently, not very well. In his excellent book How to Know A Person David Brooks cites the research of William Ickes... Books on Grieving Apr 4, 2024 | Education, NewsBooks on Grieving By Daryl Malena The task of eventually moving out of the house my family has lived in since 1977 turns out to be every bit as difficult as I expected.... An Interview With . . . Marian Fey Apr 3, 2024 | Interview With . . .How long have you been a member at First Central? Since 1998 (I think), although I attended as a child with my mom and Pipi & Pete. What is your occupation? I'm the... Scott’s Column: The God Revolution Mar 18, 2024 | Education, NewsThe last three weeks in First Forum I've taught a series on recent theological insights into God. A number of folks asked that I put together a bibliography of all the... Scott’s Column: Spiritual Experiences Mar 6, 2024 | NewsWhat are your most profound or memorable spiritual experiences? Currently in our Wednesday Night Family Night's we are exploring and discussing spiritual experiences,... An Interview with Yvette Polinsky Feb 28, 2024 | Interview With . . . What is your name, and how long have you been a member at First Central? Yvette Polinsky. I grew up in the church but was not an official member. My family moved... An Interview With . . . La Dell Diaz Feb 8, 2024 | Interview With . . ., NewsBringing back an old feature of our newsletter, which will explore the myriad ways our congregants are working in the community to change lives and change the world.... Scott’s Column: Open & Nimble Feb 5, 2024 | NewsThis is the sixth and final in a series of personal reflections on the State of the Church in 2024. 6. Given all of that I want to return to the theme I’ve been trying... Scott’s Column: Impacts on Churches Jan 30, 2024 | NewsThis is the fifth in a series of personal reflections on the State of the Church in 2024. 5. What are the impacts, then, on churches? There are the trends we are well... Scott’s Column: Cultural Trends Jan 22, 2024 | NewsThis is the fourth in a series of personal reflections on the State of the Church in 2024. 4. As if all of that weren’t enough, there are other cultural trends and... Scott’s Column: In a Context of Crises Jan 14, 2024 | NewsThis is part three in a series of personal reflections on the State of the Church in 2024 3. Beyond the demographic trends, what else shapes the context in which we are... Scott’s Column: Changing Religious Demographics in America Jan 4, 2024 | NewsThis is part two of a series of reflections on the State of the Church in 2024. 2. Even thirty years ago Mainline Protestantism was grappling with decades of decline. ... Scott’s Column: The State of the ‘Big C’ Church Jan 2, 2024 | NewsNormally in late December I begin working on my Annual Report and my State of the Church presentation for the Annual Meeting. Over the past year or so I've been trying... Scott’s Column: Christology Against White Supremacy Dec 18, 2023 | NewsSo, like I did in the First Forum class last summer, I'll draw this exploration of some contemporary Christology to a close by focusing in on one particular thinker, J.... Scott’s Column: The Power to Transform Humanity Dec 13, 2023 | NewsThe great 20th century Russian Orthodox theologian Sergius Bulgakov wrote that "All human beings will be resurrected without exception." Why? Because, as he draws... Scott’s Column: Riffing on Christ Dec 12, 2023 | News"The inability to articulate just how God was present in Christ and how that reality shapes the character of our life together destroys the very integrity of the... Scott’s Column: Happy Allhallowtide! Oct 31, 2023 | NewsHappy Allhallowtide! That's one of the formal names for this season in which the church remembers and honors the dead, made up traditionally of the three days of All... Scott’s Column: Why We Care for Children Oct 16, 2023 | Education, NewsFaith Formation: Why We Do It In our struggle with time—how to tell it, how to keep it, what to do with it, how fast or slow it goes—what we truly long for is a feeling... Scott’s Column: How Faith Formation Happens Oct 9, 2023 | Education, NewsFaith Formation: How Does It Happen? Note: this is part three in a series on the principles undergirding Christian Education. You can read the first installment here... Scott’s Column: Habit-Making Practices Oct 2, 2023 | Education, NewsForming Our Faith—Habit-Making Practices Note: this is part two in a series on the principles undergirding Christian Education. You can read the first installment... Scott’s Column: A Way of Seeing Sep 21, 2023 | Education, NewsForming our Faith: A Way of Seeing Back in the spring I taught a three-part First Forum series on what principles shape Christian Education, after that question had... Scott’s Column: Happy (Belated) Labor Day Sep 5, 2023 | NewsHappy (Belated) Labor Day! Last week a Washington Post article declared the eight-hour work day to be dying. It stated “only about half of office visits now last for... Scott’s Column: Hip-Hop’s 50th Anniversary Aug 17, 2023 | NewsLast week was the fiftieth anniversary of Hip-Hop. In his book Blue Note Preaching the Rev. Dr. Otis Moss, III, Senior Minister of Trinity UCC in Chicago, wrote: Now... Scott’s Column: Passport to Exploration Aug 14, 2023 | NewsOn the final day of our recent family summer vacation, Sebastian and I visited Pipestone National Monument in southwest Minnesota. There's a short, easy trail that... Scott’s Column: Resources for Living–Grief Jul 27, 2023 | News“For as one reweaves the fabric of one’s life after a loss, and as the thoughts around which one has defined one’s aims and aspirations change tense, one becomes to... Scott’s Column: Resources for Living–Forgiveness Jul 20, 2023 | NewsI was listening to Leonard Cohen’s final album You Want It Darker and the moving second track “Treaty.” The lyrics of the refrain are: I wish there was a treaty we... Scott’s Column: Resources for Living-Sex Jun 27, 2023 | NewsThe best book I've read on sex from a (liberal) Christian perspective is Good Christian Sex by UCC pastor Bromleigh McCleneghan. I met and befriended Bromleigh earlier... Scott’s Column: Happy Pride! The Struggle Continues Jun 13, 2023 | NewsFor most of my pastorate I've been a regular contributor to the From the Pulpit feature in the Omaha World-Herald. When I was first invited to submit, we were asked to... Scott’s Column: Pride Books for Kids May 30, 2023 | NewsJoyce Wilson, who died in April, loved penguins. And her favorite children’s book was And Tango Makes Three which tells the real-life story of two male penguins at the... Scott’s Column: Resources for Living–Mental Wellness May 18, 2023 | Mental Health, NewsMay is Mental Health Awareness Month, and the United Church of Christ recognized Sunday, May 21 as Mental Health Sunday. In our worship, we used the liturgies they... Scott’s Column: Resources for Living–Changing (Dis)Abilities May 11, 2023 | NewsIn the first column for this series, I asked if there were any topics you all thought I should write about, and I’ve received one request so far stating, “I think that... Scott’s Column: Resources for Living–Anger Apr 24, 2023 | NewsHow to deal with anger is a question I’ve often been asked by congregants seeking pastoral care. So that’s a great topic for my second installment in this series of... Scott’s Column: Resources for Living–Awe in Nature Apr 18, 2023 | News“We create wonderful places by giving them our attention, not by finding ‘pristine’ places that will bring wonder to us.” So advises biologist David George Haskell in... Tug, My “AA” Buddy Oct 7, 2020 | Events, NewsThank you Kathy Hoyt sharing this story of her faithful Tug at this year's Pet Blessing! Unlike the rest of us, Tug is getting older. He’s not the same one or... Pandemic Spirituality Jun 24, 2020 | NewsThis spring Senior Minister Scott Jones wrote a series of five essays connecting our pandemic and quarantine experiences with the spiritual wisdom of the church. Here... First Central Church – Who’s in Charge? Part 4 Jun 11, 2025 | NewsLast time I talked about Teams. But what about Committees? The First Central ByLaws has this definition: “A Standing Committee is a work group focused on a recurring or... First Central Church: Who’s in Charge? Part 3 May 28, 2025 | NewsIn last week’s column, I introduced Ministries and Teams. Teams provide the arms and legs (and the mouths and the hearts, etc.) to carry out First Central’s work in the... First Central Church – Who’s in Charge? Part 2 May 21, 2025 | NewsWhen we restructured our church governance in 2012, we aimed at streamlining the organization and making it more flexible in order to keep our focus on mission and... First Central Church – Who’s In Charge? May 14, 2025 | NewsAt First Central, we have a Senior Minister, a Moderator, a Council, 5 Ministries, and various Committees, Teams and Staff. We’re also part of the United Church of... « Older Entries Archives Archives Select Month June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 May 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 May 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 Categories Advent COVID Education Events Interview With . . . katie's musings Mental Health News Synod Recent Posts First Central Church – Who’s in Charge? Part 4 First Central Church: Who’s in Charge? Part 3 First Central Church – Who’s in Charge? Part 2 First Central Church – Who’s In Charge? Hang out with us this Summer!
Scott’s Column: Stating the Faith, Part 2 Apr 14, 2025 | NewsContinuing from last week's column. You bestow upon us your Holy Spirit, creating and renewing the church of Jesus Christ, binding in covenant faithful people of all...
Scott’s Column: Stating the Faith, Part 1 Apr 7, 2025 | NewsI feel that the lectionary in the last few months has afforded some opportunity for me to return to some of my core theological ideas, to emphasize them one more time. ...
Scott’s Column: Leadership & Decision-making Mar 31, 2025 | NewsBack in February I facilitated part of the council retreat for Countryside Community Church. I had been asked to talk about how leadership and decision-making work in...
Scott’s Column: The Stories & Relationships Mar 24, 2025 | NewsSince announcing my pastoral transition, I've used these weekly newsletter columns to survey the highlights of our fifteen years of ministry together and to offer my...
Scott’s Column: Opportunities & Challenges Mar 13, 2025 | NewsWhat opportunities and challenges do I see for First Central in the years ahead? A few of you have asked me that question over the last month, so I thought I'd put my...
Scott’s Column: Flourishing in Crisis Mar 10, 2025 | NewsThis post is the third in a series discussing the highlights of my ministry at First Central the last 15 years. The final period of my pastorate begins with the onset...
Scott’s Column: The Fruits of Our Labor Mar 2, 2025 | NewsThis post is the second installment of a series exploring the highlights of the last fifteen years. Those first six years were full of to-do lists and goals, and you...
Scott’s Column: So, Everything? Feb 24, 2025 | NewsMy fifteen years of ministry at First Central can be easily broken down into three time periods. The first begins with my arrival in summer 2010 and extends to around...
Vacation Bible School 2025 Registration Feb 10, 2025 | Education, Events, Newshttps://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdMZuikxvUfX5_YoBzuzWxf-NfU098Ozp7JNeKU0fWweObvFw/viewform?usp=sharing
Scott’s Column: State of the Church 2025 Feb 6, 2025 | NewsHere is the text of my annual State of the Church Address, delivered to the Annual Meeting of the Congregation on Sunday, February 9. We live in difficult and...
Scott’s Column: The Cruelty Feb 4, 2025 | NewsThe first really concrete thing I noticed occurred when I arrived for pick-up of my son from the after-school program two weeks ago. Next to the sign-out sheet were...
Scott’s Column: A Big & Beautiful Life Jan 27, 2025 | NewsDo we have the resources and skills we need for this age of crisis? Last week I wrote about the discussion of leadership development at Conversations, the annual...
Scott’s Column: How Are You Developing Your Leadership Skills? Jan 22, 2025 | NewsHow are you developing your leadership skills for our current times? That was one of the key questions of this year's Conversations gathering of United Church of Christ...
Scott’s Column: A Cold Night in Zurich Jan 8, 2025 | NewsA cold night in Zurich. As historian William Estep describes it, "the chill of the winter wind [was] blowing off the lake" as a dozen men "slowly trudged through the...
Scott’s Column: Two Titans Dec 30, 2024 | NewsLast week two titans of the liberal Mainline Protestant churches died--theologian John Cobb and hymn lyricist Ruth Duck. About a dozen of Ruth Duck's hymns appear in...
Scott’s Column: Wicked Nov 25, 2024 | NewsThis last weekend was Wicked. I'm only playing with the slang use of the word from my youth. I really mean the opening of the new film version of the popular Broadway...
Scott’s Column: More on Awe Nov 18, 2024 | NewsOften I get asked after a sermon, "What's that book you mentioned?" For our autumn series on Awe, the main text I've used is Dacher Keltner's Awe: A New Science of...
Scott’s Column: A Pastoral Word for Young LGBTQ+ People After the Election Nov 12, 2024 | NewsFor young people, particularly young LGBTQ+ people. I know that the election results have left you confused, sad, afraid, heartbroken, and angry. These are proper...
Scott’s Column: Gustavo Gutierrez Oct 28, 2024 | NewsEarlier this year, Jurgen Moltmann died. He was the great living theologian, at least the greatest Protestant theologian in the post-Second-World-War-Era. And then...
Scott’s Column: The AI Metaverse Oct 15, 2024 | NewsLast week a handful of Nobel prizes went to people working in the fields of artificial intelligence. I just so happened to be reading a book on what's possible in an...
Scott’s Column: Restoring the Light Oct 7, 2024 | NewsDuring our fall worship season, we are exploring Awe. The psychologist Dacher Keltner writes about how our experiences of awe and wonder get turned into ritual, art,...
Scott’s Column: Sacred Sounds Oct 1, 2024 | NewsI've spent this lovely day with my office door open to the courtyard where I can hear the fountain running. I've been working on the vespers service for Friday night...
Scott’s Column: God’s Presence Jul 23, 2024 | NewsSunday I preached about God's presence. Though it didn't make it into the sermon, that week I read a beautiful description of the presence of the Spirit in our lives...
Scott’s Column: The Life of Hope–Remembering Jürgen Moltmann Jun 5, 2024 | NewsThis week the greatest living theologian died. Jürgen Moltmann was 98 years old. He did not grow up religious, but found God and religion when he was in a prisoner of...
Scott’s Column: Happy 300th Immanuel Kant May 28, 2024 | NewsBack on April 22nd, I messaged Fred Nielsen, "Happy 300th Birthday to Immanuel Kant." To which Fred replied, "Will you be celebrating in a particularly philosophical...
Scott’s Column: Summer Theology Book Club May 13, 2024 | Events, NewsOne Sunday before worship, Lou Lamberty said, "I read God's Monsters. I really need to talk about it." I had read the book not long before that and mentioned in...
An Interview with . . . Allison Hardy May 8, 2024 | Interview With . . ., NewsHow long have you been a member at First Central? I've been a member of First Central since 2018. What is your occupation? I'm a corporate attorney at Kiewit. What do...
Scott’s Column: Curious about Psychedelics & Spirituality Apr 23, 2024 | NewsSometime back in 2020, stuck at home, binging lots of Netflix, I watched the documentary Fantastic Fungi that I'd seen friends talking about on social media. What an...
An Interview with . . . Sophie Feng Apr 16, 2024 | Interview With . . ., NewsHow long have you been a member at First Central? 15 years with the church What is your occupation? Professor What do you find meaningful about your work? Helping...
Scott’s Column: Knowing Each Other Apr 4, 2024 | NewsHow well do we humans understand one another? Apparently, not very well. In his excellent book How to Know A Person David Brooks cites the research of William Ickes...
Books on Grieving Apr 4, 2024 | Education, NewsBooks on Grieving By Daryl Malena The task of eventually moving out of the house my family has lived in since 1977 turns out to be every bit as difficult as I expected....
An Interview With . . . Marian Fey Apr 3, 2024 | Interview With . . .How long have you been a member at First Central? Since 1998 (I think), although I attended as a child with my mom and Pipi & Pete. What is your occupation? I'm the...
Scott’s Column: The God Revolution Mar 18, 2024 | Education, NewsThe last three weeks in First Forum I've taught a series on recent theological insights into God. A number of folks asked that I put together a bibliography of all the...
Scott’s Column: Spiritual Experiences Mar 6, 2024 | NewsWhat are your most profound or memorable spiritual experiences? Currently in our Wednesday Night Family Night's we are exploring and discussing spiritual experiences,...
An Interview with Yvette Polinsky Feb 28, 2024 | Interview With . . . What is your name, and how long have you been a member at First Central? Yvette Polinsky. I grew up in the church but was not an official member. My family moved...
An Interview With . . . La Dell Diaz Feb 8, 2024 | Interview With . . ., NewsBringing back an old feature of our newsletter, which will explore the myriad ways our congregants are working in the community to change lives and change the world....
Scott’s Column: Open & Nimble Feb 5, 2024 | NewsThis is the sixth and final in a series of personal reflections on the State of the Church in 2024. 6. Given all of that I want to return to the theme I’ve been trying...
Scott’s Column: Impacts on Churches Jan 30, 2024 | NewsThis is the fifth in a series of personal reflections on the State of the Church in 2024. 5. What are the impacts, then, on churches? There are the trends we are well...
Scott’s Column: Cultural Trends Jan 22, 2024 | NewsThis is the fourth in a series of personal reflections on the State of the Church in 2024. 4. As if all of that weren’t enough, there are other cultural trends and...
Scott’s Column: In a Context of Crises Jan 14, 2024 | NewsThis is part three in a series of personal reflections on the State of the Church in 2024 3. Beyond the demographic trends, what else shapes the context in which we are...
Scott’s Column: Changing Religious Demographics in America Jan 4, 2024 | NewsThis is part two of a series of reflections on the State of the Church in 2024. 2. Even thirty years ago Mainline Protestantism was grappling with decades of decline. ...
Scott’s Column: The State of the ‘Big C’ Church Jan 2, 2024 | NewsNormally in late December I begin working on my Annual Report and my State of the Church presentation for the Annual Meeting. Over the past year or so I've been trying...
Scott’s Column: Christology Against White Supremacy Dec 18, 2023 | NewsSo, like I did in the First Forum class last summer, I'll draw this exploration of some contemporary Christology to a close by focusing in on one particular thinker, J....
Scott’s Column: The Power to Transform Humanity Dec 13, 2023 | NewsThe great 20th century Russian Orthodox theologian Sergius Bulgakov wrote that "All human beings will be resurrected without exception." Why? Because, as he draws...
Scott’s Column: Riffing on Christ Dec 12, 2023 | News"The inability to articulate just how God was present in Christ and how that reality shapes the character of our life together destroys the very integrity of the...
Scott’s Column: Happy Allhallowtide! Oct 31, 2023 | NewsHappy Allhallowtide! That's one of the formal names for this season in which the church remembers and honors the dead, made up traditionally of the three days of All...
Scott’s Column: Why We Care for Children Oct 16, 2023 | Education, NewsFaith Formation: Why We Do It In our struggle with time—how to tell it, how to keep it, what to do with it, how fast or slow it goes—what we truly long for is a feeling...
Scott’s Column: How Faith Formation Happens Oct 9, 2023 | Education, NewsFaith Formation: How Does It Happen? Note: this is part three in a series on the principles undergirding Christian Education. You can read the first installment here...
Scott’s Column: Habit-Making Practices Oct 2, 2023 | Education, NewsForming Our Faith—Habit-Making Practices Note: this is part two in a series on the principles undergirding Christian Education. You can read the first installment...
Scott’s Column: A Way of Seeing Sep 21, 2023 | Education, NewsForming our Faith: A Way of Seeing Back in the spring I taught a three-part First Forum series on what principles shape Christian Education, after that question had...
Scott’s Column: Happy (Belated) Labor Day Sep 5, 2023 | NewsHappy (Belated) Labor Day! Last week a Washington Post article declared the eight-hour work day to be dying. It stated “only about half of office visits now last for...
Scott’s Column: Hip-Hop’s 50th Anniversary Aug 17, 2023 | NewsLast week was the fiftieth anniversary of Hip-Hop. In his book Blue Note Preaching the Rev. Dr. Otis Moss, III, Senior Minister of Trinity UCC in Chicago, wrote: Now...
Scott’s Column: Passport to Exploration Aug 14, 2023 | NewsOn the final day of our recent family summer vacation, Sebastian and I visited Pipestone National Monument in southwest Minnesota. There's a short, easy trail that...
Scott’s Column: Resources for Living–Grief Jul 27, 2023 | News“For as one reweaves the fabric of one’s life after a loss, and as the thoughts around which one has defined one’s aims and aspirations change tense, one becomes to...
Scott’s Column: Resources for Living–Forgiveness Jul 20, 2023 | NewsI was listening to Leonard Cohen’s final album You Want It Darker and the moving second track “Treaty.” The lyrics of the refrain are: I wish there was a treaty we...
Scott’s Column: Resources for Living-Sex Jun 27, 2023 | NewsThe best book I've read on sex from a (liberal) Christian perspective is Good Christian Sex by UCC pastor Bromleigh McCleneghan. I met and befriended Bromleigh earlier...
Scott’s Column: Happy Pride! The Struggle Continues Jun 13, 2023 | NewsFor most of my pastorate I've been a regular contributor to the From the Pulpit feature in the Omaha World-Herald. When I was first invited to submit, we were asked to...
Scott’s Column: Pride Books for Kids May 30, 2023 | NewsJoyce Wilson, who died in April, loved penguins. And her favorite children’s book was And Tango Makes Three which tells the real-life story of two male penguins at the...
Scott’s Column: Resources for Living–Mental Wellness May 18, 2023 | Mental Health, NewsMay is Mental Health Awareness Month, and the United Church of Christ recognized Sunday, May 21 as Mental Health Sunday. In our worship, we used the liturgies they...
Scott’s Column: Resources for Living–Changing (Dis)Abilities May 11, 2023 | NewsIn the first column for this series, I asked if there were any topics you all thought I should write about, and I’ve received one request so far stating, “I think that...
Scott’s Column: Resources for Living–Anger Apr 24, 2023 | NewsHow to deal with anger is a question I’ve often been asked by congregants seeking pastoral care. So that’s a great topic for my second installment in this series of...
Scott’s Column: Resources for Living–Awe in Nature Apr 18, 2023 | News“We create wonderful places by giving them our attention, not by finding ‘pristine’ places that will bring wonder to us.” So advises biologist David George Haskell in...
Tug, My “AA” Buddy Oct 7, 2020 | Events, NewsThank you Kathy Hoyt sharing this story of her faithful Tug at this year's Pet Blessing! Unlike the rest of us, Tug is getting older. He’s not the same one or...
Pandemic Spirituality Jun 24, 2020 | NewsThis spring Senior Minister Scott Jones wrote a series of five essays connecting our pandemic and quarantine experiences with the spiritual wisdom of the church. Here...
First Central Church – Who’s in Charge? Part 4 Jun 11, 2025 | NewsLast time I talked about Teams. But what about Committees? The First Central ByLaws has this definition: “A Standing Committee is a work group focused on a recurring or...
First Central Church: Who’s in Charge? Part 3 May 28, 2025 | NewsIn last week’s column, I introduced Ministries and Teams. Teams provide the arms and legs (and the mouths and the hearts, etc.) to carry out First Central’s work in the...
First Central Church – Who’s in Charge? Part 2 May 21, 2025 | NewsWhen we restructured our church governance in 2012, we aimed at streamlining the organization and making it more flexible in order to keep our focus on mission and...
First Central Church – Who’s In Charge? May 14, 2025 | NewsAt First Central, we have a Senior Minister, a Moderator, a Council, 5 Ministries, and various Committees, Teams and Staff. We’re also part of the United Church of...
