Oh Holy One, How quickly we forget that you brought us onto this planet as travelers on the same road, hungry ones in need of food, tired ones in need of rest. How quickly we turn on one another and question instead of believe, accuse instead of listen, attack instead of trust. We aim at… Read More
RevGalBookPals: The Path Between Us
Disclosure: I have attended two BEs (Big Events) with Suzanne Stabile and received two free copies of this book, plus the study guide, for review. After four years of study, prayer, pouting, protesting, and assimilation of information, I can tell you that the Enneagram has been the greatest spiritual tool to helping me connect with… Read More
Thursday Prayer: Pursued by Goodness
Goodness and mercy all my days, shall surely follow me… Dear God, I am trying to write my sermon for Good Shepherd Sunday and I keep singing Brother James’ Air and in particular those lines about goodness and mercy. The verb is apparently a really active one. Not so much follow as pursue. So I… Read More
Wednesday Prayer
Ah, Holy One who is Many, I pray today for… Gosh, I don’t know and I do. It’s a beautiful cool and sunny day, and the forsythia is blooming here, and it feels like a respite. So, I am grateful. I pray my gratefulness today. There is much sorrow and deep pain and anguish in… Read More
Revised Common Lectionary: Good Shepherd Edition
My home congregation is Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Madison, Wisconsin, USA. For as long as I can remember, their logo has included a silhouette of Jesus as shepherd, holding a long staff. They have a beautiful metal (iron?) sculpture of a shepherd carrying a sheep. Their columbarium, which I have yet to see in person,… Read More
Narrative Lectionary: Prison Blues Edition (Acts 16:16-34)
This Sunday’s text is Acts 16:16-34, and the Working Preacher commentary can be found here. We’re meeting Paul and Silas in prison. I recently traveled to Lumpkin, Georgia, to the ICE civil prison called the Stewart Detention Center. Most of my undocumented neighbors picked up by Immigration, Control and Enforcement end up in this “civil”… Read More
Tuesday Prayer
To my Lord Jesus Christ who came into the world to save those who were lost You who did leave the ninety and nine sheep in order to look for the lost one please look for me in the path of my errors where I hide myself from you and my fellow humans. You, the… Read More
The Pastor is Political: On Doing Justice and Being Misunderstood
“Who can read the New Testament and fail to see that Jesus took sides and accepted freely the possibility of being misunderstood.” –James Cone, “Jesus Christ in Black Theology” As both a parent and a pastor, I have long been a supporter of mental health care in my community. I even serve on a state-wide… Read More
Monday Prayer
“April is the cruelest month,” the poet T. S. Eliot writes, and we are living that reality in a world caught between the tensions and apparent contradictions that comprise this life. The shifting sands of need among the beloved of God require nimble feet for those who seek and serve. Balance, you say? We do… Read More
Sunday Prayer: What Wondrous Love
What love you have for us, O Merciful One: the sparrow chirrups faithfully and the daffodil sprouts through snow, joy greets us daily with the sunrise and grace finds us every night. What love you have for us, O Forgiving One: that new visions reveal your relentless hope though the world is overwrought with war,… Read More
