For those who ran out of week before they ran out of things that need to get done, we pray to the Lord. For those who feel self-satisfied when they hear “Those who will not work should not eat”, we pray to the Lord. For those who carry home a backpack of food from school… Read More
Ask the Matriarch: Congregational Planning with a Stewardship Emphasis
This week’s question is from a soon-to-be ordained pastor whose congregation is feeling some growing pains that will impact her own professional life. Dear Matriarchs, I serve a mid-size congregation as Director of Faith Formation. I recently became eligible for ordination and my congregation must now decide whether to call me to continue serving them… Read More
RCL: We Can Work it Out
This morning as I was pondering the interesting mix of texts on offer, I had a sudden realization: these were the Revised Common Lectionary texts for Sunday November 13, 2016– the Sunday following the U.S. presidential election. I chose then as I choose this week, to use the Isaiah and Luke texts. About two-thirds of… Read More
Tuesday Prayer
God of Questions and Answers- In the words of The Clash: “Should I stay or should I go now?” Should I drive on potentially icy roads or stay in my warm abode? Should I go out with friends or stay home to rest? Should I attend one more meeting that I really am not required… Read More
Narrative Lectionary: Many Verses to God’s Love Song
This week’s Narrative Lectionary passage gives us two passages from Isaiah. The first is the love song of the vineyard yielding bad fruit in chapter five. The second is from chapter eleven, a passage we often hear during Advent, where a shoot grows from the stump of Jesse. Commentary at Working Preacher is here. A… Read More
Monday Prayer
A Litany for Today May the love and light be with you in this time of challenge May the love and light be with you in this time of quiet May the love and light be with you in this time of anxiety May the love and light be with you in this time of… Read More
Friday Festival
It has been while since I actually wrote anything for Friday Festival. This is my bad: a mixture of house move; lethargy; lack of inspiration and general feeling of burden carrying that spilled over into everything. every. thing. However! A new month, in a new call, in a new decade (for me) seems to have… Read More
Friday Prayer
God of both the big picture and the details- Be with me today as I run errands. Help me find joy in the mundane and to focus on what I’d rather ignore. Assist me in being grateful to have clothes to wash and clean water in which to wash them. Grant me gratitude that I… Read More
Tuesday Prayer
Divine Dweller, As decisions are made And votes are cast And thoughts are shared Across our earth, May your love be incorporated as part of these choices. Shine your light brightly on the areas you need for us to focus. Call us again and again if we take the unhealthiest path. May your grace overwhelm… Read More
11th Hour Preacher Party: Hope Edition
I don’t know about you, preachers, but I almost always can use a little extra hope. I spent Friday morning on a hike at a nearby state park that experienced a large-scale fire in 2011. It burned innumerable pine trees, which mostly still stand as bare trunks. But, in a testament to resiliency and resurrection,… Read More
