After the U.S. elections last fall, I heard many people saying things like, “How are we going to survive this?” and “It’s never been this bad before.” My response was, and continues to be, “The people of God have been here before. If we seek to serve God, we will find a way through.” This week’s… Read More
Monday Prayer: eclipse edition
Joy that surpasses all, you dazzle us with your brilliance, and your radiance permeates every corner of our world like giddy moonbeams. The arc of your light is steadfast, and we are eager to follow it across the landscape of our nights and days. Help us remember to turn to you when we are wearied… Read More
Sunday Prayer: Famine
Go away from me! Christ, have mercy. I am broken and beaten down, worn and weary, and too discouraged to brave the sight of you. I am starved by the hatred of the world. Go away — your glory only reminds me of my imperfection, your grace shames my sin. Come closer to me! Christ,… Read More
Saturday Prayer: Dimensions of the Journey
If they had known it would be forty years, would they have packed differently? would they have planned differently? would they have prepared differently? We do not know the dimensions of the journey to which you call us. We only hear you say… Follow me. Preach, teach, heal. Love others as yourself. Confront abusers of… Read More
11th Hour Preacher Party: Late Breaking New(s) Edition
So much on my mind these days. So very much. If one lives in the USA, one is probably overwhelmed by the constant “BREAKING NEWS” – always on the brink of disaster and in a heightened state of anxiety. It takes everything I have to stay focused, to aim for calm, thoughtful, leadership. Our… Read More
Friday Prayer: Watching for the arc
We wait for you, Lord More than watchers of the morning, More than mourners in the evening, More than questioners of your timing. We wait for you, Lord In the cacophony of pain, In the silence of our doubts, In the answers that do not comfort. We wait for you, Lord The one who formed… Read More
Friday Festival: The Threads We Grasp
Much has been written this week in response to the violence in Charlottesville, VA in the U.S., commenting on the events of last weekend, and reflecting on it as a moral mirror for us all. Wise bloggers have written about learning from our racist history, the racism in our own families, and the kind of… Read More
RevGalBookPals: The Cross and the Lynching Tree
This my confession of American, white privilege of a certain age: when I was in seminary, I took classes on race and ethnicity, but at the same time- I assumed that the biggest fights that would happen in my pastoral ministry would be around sex, sexuality, and gender and money. My social and class location,… Read More
Thursday prayer: Soften our hearts.
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you. I will remove your stony heart from your body and replace it with a living one… Ezekiel 36:26 CEB We pray for God to soften our hearts… We pray for relationships in which there is conflict, and pray for God’s grace and wisdom to… Read More
Our Spiritual Disciplines: Routines of the House
Growing up, my mom and dad always insisted on Saturday morning that my sister and I would help them clean the house before we got to do anything we called fun. Though it wasn’t meant to be punishment, it sure felt like it. I would regularly complain: “Why can’t I watch cartoons like my other… Read More
