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
Wednesday Prayer
Holy, You love me. Help me absorb that love deep into my skin, let it flow through my veins, circle through my heart, pump it like life into your world. I confess, in my skeptic way, When I see a message, “GDLVSU” on the back of a car, I wonder about the person driving it,… Read More
Revised Common Lectionary: Foreigners and Refugees
Dear preachers, if you have the option in your setting, I highly recommend adding in the optional verses to the Revised Common Lectionary Gospel this Sunday. In a week when hate speech and crimes are making international headlines, this is a poignant time to hear Jesus’ words: It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a… Read More
