Jeff Garrison
A car approaches from the north. I turn around and stick out my thumb. “Was this a good idea?” I ponder. I haven’t hitchhiked since the summer before, when I completed the Appalachian Trail. And now I could use a ride back to my car at a trailhead. Otherwise, I’ll have an eight to ten …
This piece is from my journals, memory, and the train guide for the California Zephyr. Sadly, I must not have taken as many photos as I do now, but then this was long before digital photography. A three week break from Nevada I left my car at Carolyn’s house in the Washoe Valley on the southside …
Continue reading “From Reno to Pittsburgh, 1989, the first leg of a transcontinental journey”
Hunkered down in a storm Looking back, it was foolish. Out west, in the summer, one should never climb high passes late in the afternoon. But the summer of 1988 had been so dry. Afternoon thunderstorms were infrequent. I didn’t give it much thought. but should have known better. Hiking alone and cross-country made my …
I pulled into Virginia City early in the afternoon. It was a Tuesday, the day after Labor Day, 1988, twenty-four hours after leaving Camp Sawtooth in Idaho. The summer had been idyllic, running a camp with plenty of time to hike in the mountains. Now I was heading again into uncharted territory. The Drive from …
I wrote this back in 2015 and pulled it out as a piece for a memoir. It’s a true event that occurred when I drove West for the first time. On the way out, I stopped first in Nashville, where I met a friend that’d hike with along the Appalachian Trail. Then I headed to …
Jeff GarrisonBluemont and Mayberry ChurchesDecember 11, 2022Isaiah 35 At the beginning of worship There is a wonderful little book filled with wisdom titled, Jacob the Baker. When teaching his fellow bakers, Jacob holds up his fist and says: The fist starves the hand… When our hand is made into a fist, we cannot receive the gifts of …
Jeff Garrison Mayberry and Bluemont Presbyterian Churches July 11, 2022 Luke 8:26-39 At the beginning of worship: Why would you invite someone to church? I hope it isn’t to see or hear me talk, although I would enjoy meeting your friend. But that’s not why we should invite someone to church. We invite them because we care. When …
Continue reading “From Demon Possessed to Gentile Evangelist”
Jeff GarrisonBluemont and Mayberry ChurchesDaniel 5September 19, 2021 Added on April 21, 2022 and I wish I had seen this before writing this sermon: from @churchcurmudgeon: “Usually when there is writing on the wall, it portends the death of a culture. But hey, fine, throw out the hymnals and use a projector.” At the Beginning …
Jeff GarrisonBluemont and Mayberry ChurchesJune 27, 2021Mark 5:21-43 Thoughts at the Beginning of Worship Let’s me share with you a quote I came across this week from Doris Haddock. She went by the name Granny D. In 2000, at the age of 90, she walked across America. It took her a year as she made …
Continue reading “Who receives the credit for these two healings?”
Jeff Garrison Bluemont and Mayberry ChurchesNovember 1, 2020Psalm 110, Matthew 22:41-46 The video above was recorded on Friday, October 30, 2020 and may be a little different from the text below. At the Beginning of Worship We’re going to complete the 22nd Chapter of Matthew’s gospel this morning. Two weeks ago, we began the chapter with …