The celebration of New Year’s Eve (Hogmany) is a big event in Scotland. However, this year it will be very much curtailed, as were our Christmas and Easter celebrations, along with the festivals of other faiths in 2020. It’s within this very different New Year that we read of Jesus’ family going up to Jerusalem… Read More
Wit’s End Day: What Pastors have learned during COVID
Sure, 2020 has been a rough year with lots of adjustments and some difficult losses. But just think of all the stuff we’ve learned along the way! Talk about “things they didn’t teach us in seminary”! (Except #5. Dr. Graves tried very hard to teach me #5.) So here are The Top 10 Things I’ve… Read More
Sunday Prayer: a haven for the hungry
Living Water,
We come before you this day, lifting before you those who need your healing touch,
your comforting presence,
your reassuring word. Read More
RCL: Negotiating the Path
How have we arrived at the end of August so quickly? Even with pandemic this summer has sped by at an alarming rate. Many of us might be on vacation this week; I am. For those of us who are preaching this week, the texts contain countless sermon possibilities. Admittedly, I am seeing them all… Read More
Saturday Prayer: Woven Together
Thank you for this day, Holy One. A day of unknowns and surprises. A day of plans and promises. A day of loss and disappointments. A day of brokenness and despair. A day of dreams and hopes. We give them all to you. We trust in your Divine guidance as we weave our hearts into… Read More
RCL: Sharing a Cup
It’s not often that as the lectionary cycles around, I end up writing on the same passages I wrote on three years ago. Or maybe it is more often than I realize and these texts just stand out more than some others. Either way, I’ve written on these passages before and you can see what… Read More
RCL: Choose Your Own Adventure Holy Spirit Style
In many ways this Eastertide seemed endless with physical distancing and all church activities online in one way or another. Yet, here we are at Pentecost. As we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit, the birth of the Church, we need to be a bit creative this year. Flash paper, red balloons, and other… Read More
Narrative Lectionary: Source of Love
It’s the infamous LOVE text! Read it (maybe for the umpteenth time) here. It is not unfamiliar. This text is often used in wedding and union ceremonies; sometimes ordinations and installations, too. In the Working Preacher Commentary, you can find a historical and contextual glimpse into what might have prompted the Apostle Paul to write these… Read More
RCL: Grace in the Wilderness, A Poem for Easter 2020
This was first posted at Write Out of Left Field. Easter is a challenge for preaching this year, even with these very familiar texts. I wrote the following poem as I struggle to pull sermon thoughts together. You are welcome to use it in your worship with attribution. Please share any thoughts you have on… Read More
RevGalBookPals: The #MeToo Reckoning
Content Warning: sexual assault, abuse, rape, church abuse, I am Lutheran (ELCA). In Lutheran theological understanding, all of the commandments are interconnected, not only to our relationship with God, but to our relationship with other people. Commandments are most quickly broken because we (people) create false idols. These are not the golden calf of… Read More
