Eric Anderson

Up a Tree

"So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way." - Luke 19:4 I didn't think my hands could grip so tight.I also didn't think I'd ever be this high.So let's be clear that I regret this choice.I wish I hadn't scaled these heights. Were I to…

The instrument for today’s song. I’ll song “A Place at the Table” at 11 AM HAST, about 15 minutes from now.

holycrosshilo.com/2025/10/28/a...

Story: Remember

October 26, 2025 Ephesians 1:11-23Luke 6:20-31 I remember a good number of things. I also forget a good number of things. Some of them I’m happy to forget, especially if they made me unhappy at the time. Some of them I wish I could remember, especially if they involve the question…

Me and my friend Mitch, who’s got blingier shoes than I do.

Red shoes on the sidewalk.

Accepting the second place trophy.

Crowd on the sidewalk.

Yes, I put on heels (her shoes). Yes, I walked a mile. Yes, my feet kinda hurt.

And thanks to the really generous people who sponsored my walk, I came home with the trophy for second highest amount raised to fund the Y’s supports for survivors of sexual assault and gender-based violence.

"Federal agents fired a pepper round that struck the pastor of the College Heights United Church of Christ. The impact caked his face in orange powder...

“I’m in a lot of pain,” the pastor texted from the emergency room, “He clearly was aiming for the face.”

www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/arti...

“By asserting that he can have the military kill people suspected of drug trafficking as if they are enemy soldiers on a battlefield, Mr. Trump is blurring a line between enforcing the law and waging a war.”

No. Words matter. Trump is not ‘blurring a line’. He is breaking a law. @nytimes.com

Search Engines Like Google Are Powered By Racist, Misogynist Algorithms, Says MacArthur Fellow Professor Safiya Noble's research found search engines exacerbate racist stereotypes and victimize marginalized groups.

“The internet isn’t neutral — it mirrors the inequalities of the society that built it.” — Dr.
@safiyanoble.bsky.social, our 2025 Parker Lecturer

Get your #ParkerLecture2025 ticket: buff.ly/GpHFSKc

Getting ready for tonight’s concert. It streams live in a little over 20 minutes at 6 PM HAST!

holycrosshilo.com/2025/10/20/c...

I should note: by my count, this makes at least four clergy members *that I know of* who have been shot with pepper balls or rubber bullets fired by ICE/DHS agents in recent weeks — two Presbyterians, two Methodists and a UCCer.

#ThursdaysInBlack because the perpetrators of rape and gender-based violence are so often shrouded by lies. #HCUCCTiB

The instrument for today’s song. “I’ve Got a Jar of Flour” streams live at 11 AM HAST.

holycrosshilo.com/2025/10/20/a...

What’s New, Beatitudes?

" 'But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.'" - Luke 6:24 What's new, Beatitudes?Woe, woe, woe! OK, Jesus. I'll get serious with you,since you've got serious with me.I'm hardly rich, you know(except by global standards).I'm hardly full, except…

Song: Hold On

by Eric AndersonOctober 17, 2025 I wrote this song for worship on October 19, 2025, and it is based on the story of Jacob wrestling with God in Genesis 32. You’ve got to hold on, hold onThough your limbs are weary and your soul is tiredYou’ve got to hold on, hold onFor the sun will…

Story: Hold On

October 19, 2025 Genesis 32:22-31Luke 18:1-8 Where I grew up on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, there are birds that eat worms. In fact, a lot of birds eat worms. Some of them would eat worms (and bugs, and spiders) that burrow into trees. Some of these would use their beaks to…

#ThursdaysInBlack because rape and gender-based violence get excused so often and so well, evil upon evil. #HCUCCTiB

Overcome

"When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, 'Let me go, for the day is breaking.' But Jacob said, 'I will not let you go, unless you bless me.'" - Genesis 32:25-26…

The instrument for today’s song. “For Just One Day” streams live at 11 AM HAST.

holycrosshilo.com/2025/10/14/a...

YouTube video by United Church of Christ Disabilities Awareness Month - Rev. Karen Georgia Thompson

"God calls us to create communities where accommodations & accessibility are part of our love language, with dignity gracefully extended to all people. Everyone is created in the image of God, no exceptions."

-Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia Thompson

Learn more-UCC Disability Justice Ministry: uccdm.org

Here's Cardinal Cupich's statement: In this moment it is important to state clearly that keeping the nation safe and respecting human dignity are not mutually exclusive. In fact one cannot exist without the other. The safety of a nation cannot come at the expense of violations of human dignity and surely the dignity of the undocumented can never be violated by unnecessarily aggressive tactics that go far beyond the task of apprehending people and which seem to be intended to terrorize and cause chaos, rather than fulfilling the noble calling of law enforcement. No one working in this noble calling should be put in the position of acting this way. Not only do they risk violating the dignity of others but such activity is beneath their own dignity.

NEW: Statement from Cardinal Blaise Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago, on ICE activities in the city.

Implicitly refers to tactics used by ICE/DHS as “unnecessarily aggressive” and “seem to be intended to terrorize and cause chaos, rather than fulfilling the noble calling of law enforcement.”

Oklahoma prison phone call rates rise again, leaving families frustrated Securus Technologies reverses rate reduction on Oklahoma prison phone calls, going back to 14 cents per minute. Explore how families and inmates are affected.

"They need the family connections; they need to get better, and mental health and all that is not good in there if they're not connecting with their family." #PhoneJustice

TAKE ACTION: buff.ly/uDwowBZ

Story: ‘Apapane Faith

October 5, 2025 Habakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4Luke 17:5-10 Birds, by their very nature, rely on faith. Every bird knows about gravity; every bird knows that what goes up must come down. Every bird knows that while flight is the most natural thing in the world to them, it is also the…

Take Your Watchpost

" 'Would you not rather say to him, "Prepare supper for me; put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink"?'" - Luke 17:8 Stand at your watchpost, Holy One, and see,if I have brought your sustenance to tablewhere the hungry you have called…

The instrument for today’s song (the smaller one). “I’ve Got a Little Flour” streams live at 11 AM HAST, about 15 minutes from now.

holycrosshilo.com/2025/09/29/a...

Battle Over Prison Phone Call Costs Heads to Court, FCC Teases New Vote A US appeals court ruled for oral arguments to proceed. The FCC advised against this, claiming an upcoming vote may "moot" much of the case.

The FCC is supposed to serve the public. Instead, it’s bending to pressure from prison phone companies—cancelling long-overdue relief for families. Read more:

Story: Aloha for the ‘Iwa

September 28, 2025 Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15Luke 16:19-31 The ‘iwa, or great frigatebird, has a bad reputation among the seabirds around Hawai’i. ‘Iwa have been known to bully other birds to get them to drop their meals, which the ‘iwa then swoops down to eat. That’s pretty…

“He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

“He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.”

-Declaration of Independence

The instrument for today’s song. “First Denial”
Streams live at 11 AM HAST. Join me then or via recording!

holycrosshilo.com/2025/09/22/a...

Send Me

" said, 'Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house--for I have five brothers--that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.'" - Luke 16:27-28 O Holy One, When I should find myself (again)in torment I have made myself,may my compassion…

"In a time when diversity is misunderstood, preachers can shine God’s light of love upon all people who might be feeling afraid of being targeted, stigmatized, and punished because of their neurodivergence."

-Rev. Dr. Sarah Griffith Lund, UCC
www.workingpreacher.org/culture/prea...

Story: Peace

September 21, 2025 Jeremiah 8:18-9:11 Timothy 2:1-7 He was a yellow-billed cardinal, and he was young. He was so young, in fact, that the feathers on the top of his head weren’t red; they were brown. He was so young that his bill wasn’t yellow, it was tan. He was old enough to be…