I’m having some difficulties with these texts this week. It’s the third anniversary of my mother’s death and my grief is complicated. And the things happening in the world that displace such callous indifference to human lives brings the angry cynic out in me. I’m working to contain these feelings as I read these texts… Read More
Revised Common Lectionary: But Thomas
“But Thomas,” this phrase sticks with me. Poor Thomas was the exception, the one who missed it. Maybe that makes sense though. It was Thomas who was the first one willing to risk going back to Judea, even tho they tried to stone him the last time he was there John 11: 7-16. No one… Read More
RCL: T-fig – Terror, Tabernacle, & Travel On
This was originally posted on Write Out of Left Field. The trudge up the mountain can be exhausting. After feeding four thousand people, witnessing Jesus open the eyes of a blind man, a startling recognition of Jesus as Messiah, and some teachings about what it means to be a disciple, climbing a high mountain seems… Read More
Revised Common Lectionary: The Do or Die Edition
Sometimes the lectionary texts present more challenge than I feel ready to accept. This is one of those weeks. Here in Minnesota we are digging out from the largest snowfall in years. For today that means people are taking things a bit slower and the world is covered in the cleanliness of new-fallen snow. And… Read More
Friday Festival: It’s Been a Week . . .
How to respond? Four possibilities: Every day – every single day – I wonder about church, the who what where when why and how of church. Laura Marie of Everyday Christianity suggests that we think of church as a verb. Huh. Are we bringing hope? That’s the question Jan Edmiston asks in achurchforstarvingartists. We are… Read More
Saturday Prayer: For Our Churches
God, I pray this morning for my church. I know I’m not supposed to call it that. “My” church. Because it’s not mine. Not really. It is your church. And for that I am grateful. But it feels like mine, too. My hope. My pain. My joy. My energy. My love. My people. I… Read More
Friday Festival: Questions for the Church
Discernment is an important word for the Church across all generations and seasons: the work of sorting through (information, events, purposes, intentions, actions, etc.) with the Spirit’s help to understand God’s call and work. Reading our colleagues’ thoughts around the RevGalBlogPals’ blogging network can be an inventive & insightful method for generating questions for discernment… Read More
Wits’ Ends Day: The Missed Joys of Being DONE
In my former life I taught college. There are a lot of similarities between the pastoral work I do now and the teaching I did back when. I study and prepare. I speak in front of groups of people. We all know that a pastor does a lot of teaching. And it’s also true that… Read More
(Wits’ Ends Days) First Church Newsletter Exclusive: WikiLeaks Releases Pastor’s Hacked Emails
A new batch of private emails from Pastor Hannah Clement was released by WikiLeaks on October 19. You can search the email archive on the organization’s web site by key terms such as: Jesus, God, communion, theology, eschatology, and plumbing emergency. Below are some highlights of what the emails reveal about the disturbing inner workings… Read More
RevGals Anti-Racism Project: “Trouble I’ve Seen,” Week 5
You don’t normally see a lot of white people in this part of town. So of course my curiosity was piqued. The first thing I observed as I approached was that they were all wearing bright, loud, matching yellow T-shirts. They clearly didn’t want to be missed. White people were here! Drew G.I. Hart, Trouble I’ve Seen: Changing… Read More
