I remember this summer when a preacher said, in that one version of the story, that Jesus didn’t stop the storm, didn’t calm the storm at all, but he was with them in it. O God, the winds are raging, somehow from multiple directions all at the same time, meanwhile, the sea is threatening to… Read More
Ask the Matriarch: The Pastor’s Role as Supervisor
Let’s consider yet another pastoral professional skill set that likely wasn’t covered in our theological education. This week’s question comes from a Rev who is discovering the joys and challenges of staff supervision. Dear Matriarchs, I am an Episcopal priest about 6 months into my first call as the full-time priest in charge of a… Read More
Wits-Ends-Day: Early Warning Signs
Many seminaries and denominations require some level of psychological testing and evaluation for people who want to become pastors. I’m on board with the concept—the last thing we want is a bunch of narcissists in charge of churches. But I do question the effectiveness of some of these evaluations. The two things I remember from… Read More
Wednesday Prayer
Gracious God, in these times of remembering, help us to recall Your grace towards us that we might extend grace to one another. Loving God, in the midst of hateful rhetoric and fearful behavior, help us to feel Your love in our very flesh in ways that cannot be contained and held back from one… Read More
Tuesday Prayer
God, I remember that blue-skied Tuesday morning eighteen years ago when plumes of smoke stole the familiar skyline. The landscape was forever changed in Manhattan, and the fabric of our souls forever altered. The hole created in the hearts at the Pentagon has never closed. The fields amid Pennsylvania mountaintops permanently hold deep craters of… Read More
Revised Common Lectionary: Identity Crisis
Who am I? Who are you? Who is Jesus? Who do people say Jesus is? We are followers. We are deniers. We are Satan. We are also teachers. We are fire. We are fruit. We are the criers. We are the delivered. We are the unashamed. We are the helped. We are the wayward and… Read More
Narrative Lectionary: Called to Decolonize (Genesis 12:1-9)
Later this month will mark the one year anniversary of Hurricane Maria’s devastation of Puerto Rico as its 3.3 million residents still reeled from the impact of the often forgotten Hurricane Irma which hit the island just two weeks before. As I type these words, I whisper the name Raúl Pagán, my father’s cousin—que en… Read More
Monday Prayer
Precious Holy, Thank you for opportunities to take time out, For time with old friends and new, For time to spend with you, in silence, and emptiness, in nature, in wide open spaces. Precious Holy, Thank you for busyness and schedules, and diaries, and appointments. For time with others, planning and sharing, meeting and exploring,… Read More
Pastoral is Political: Until We All Win
My social media timelines are filled with pictures of Serena Williams, arguably the greatest athlete in the world, angrily yelling at the tennis umpire in the U.S. Open. I don’t watch tennis, football is my sport, but I have to say that I have been a big fan of Serena’s for a long time. It… Read More
Sunday Prayer
Abiding God, You surround this world with your steadfast affection. You hold it together in your holy hands, With gentle care and fierce hope, in spite of all we do to divide, conquer, rule, and oppress. In the Word you remind us in the most unexpected ways that Your Heart cannot be held back… Read More
