Pastor Jess Scholten3 days ago1 minPastor's Pondering - July 1, 2022Dear friends - Did you know that armadillos can jump 3-4 feet in the air? Or that Gila monster only runs about 1 mile an hour? Did you...
Pastor Jess ScholtenJun 231 minCome magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name TOGETHER! Psalm 34:3 - June 24, 2022 I recently came across this picture from years past of a River Glen Riverwalk worship service under the Pavilion in downtown Naperville. ...
Pastor Jess ScholtenJun 161 minPastor's Pondering - June 17, 2022Dear friends - As I write this, I have so many tabs open - weather, a packing list on google keep, Enterprise for the rental car -...
Pastor Jess ScholtenJun 91 minPastor's Pondering - June 10, 2022Dear friends - One of my favorite reflections on the Holy Spirit comes from Amy Julia Becker, who writes of the Spirit at work, “In...
Pastor Jess ScholtenJun 31 minPastor's Pondering - June 3, 2022Dear friends - After four years of great ministry at River Glen, our Children and Family Ministries Director Megan Elder has turned in...
Pastor Jess ScholtenMay 261 minPastor's Pondering - May 27, 2022Dear friends - Last week, I heard John Philip Newell speak. He is an author and Celtic spirituality teacher who seeks to help people...
Pastor Jess ScholtenMay 192 minPastor's Pondering - May 20, 2022Dear friends - You never know what a difference your words or kindnesses are making in someone's life. I was hospitalized for four days...
Pastor Jess ScholtenMay 121 minPastor's Pondering - May 13, 2022Dear friends - Like a sportscar going from 0 to 180, we've shifted right into summer! Not only temperature-wise, though that has been...
Pastor Jess ScholtenMay 41 minPastor's Pondering - May 6, 2022Dear friends - May is mental health awareness month. With so many struggling through and now starting to come out of pandemic, with the...
Pastor Jess ScholtenMay 31 minPastor's Pondering - April 29, 2022Dear friends - On Tuesday night, we had a significant Session meeting full of all sorts of meaningful ministry. Five members of the...
Pastor Jess ScholtenApr 211 minPastor's Pondering - April 22, 2022Dear friends - Happy Earth Day! The first earth day was in 1970, created through demonstrations and an emerging awareness of...
Pastor Jess ScholtenApr 151 minPastor's Pondering - April 15, 2022Dear friends - Did you know that a little over a year ago, the city of Naperville hired our first Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)...
Pastor Jess ScholtenApr 81 minPastor's Pondering - April 8, 2022Dear friends - Children's Choir Fountains, rocks, and palms Bells Choir Communion Flowering of the Cross (bring some flowers to weave...
Pastor Jess ScholtenMar 241 minPastor's Pondering - March 25, 2022Dear friends - A question came up in Session: can we have Covid data metrics so we'll know about changing masking protocols? While that...
Pastor Jess ScholtenMar 171 minPastor's Pondering - March 18, 2022Dear friends - For vacation, would you rather go to a national park or on a mission trip? Some friends posed this question to their two...
Pastor Jess ScholtenMar 101 minPastor's Pondering - March 11, 2022Dear friends - On Tuesday evening during dinner, I had not turned my phone volume down and suddenly it buzzed a few times with text...
Pastor Jess ScholtenMar 41 minPastor's Pondering - March 4, 2022Dear friends - Oh, our poor teachers and school administrators. They can't win right now. Our poor medical workers - exhausted,...
Pastor Jess ScholtenFeb 241 minPastor's Pondering - February 25, 2022Dear friends - Our leadership team recently sent some love to our friends over at Congregation Beth Shalom in response to the hostage...
Pastor Jess ScholtenFeb 171 minPastor's Pondering - February 18, 2022Dear friends - On the topic of joy: our new book club book, The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World, is the story of the...
Pastor Jess ScholtenFeb 101 minPastor's Pondering - February 11, 2022Dear friends - This week, our new Executive Presbyter, the Rev. Craig Howard, reflected in our Presbytery newsletter about his...