A Blessing for Those with Stress-Induced Lethargy In the muscle-tensed, frenetic exhaustion of your blank stare, May you know that you are not alone. In the numb doom-scrolling hours, May your senses be drawn to peace and joy. In the overwhelm of grief and frustration, May you be anchored in the truth of eternal love.… Read More
11th Hour Preacher Party
Hello, preaching friends! Some of you have already, or are, recording a sermon. Some of you are still in the midst of preparation. How can we help? Ideas? Adaptations? Children’s Time? Share this preaching moment here. Monica Thompson Smith is a Presbyterian Church (USA) minister, serving as stated supply pastor of First Presbyterian Church, Luling,… Read More
The Pastoral is Political: When the System Pushes Back
I am delighted to yield this space today to the Rev. Casey Wait, pastor, storyteller, and painter. She currently serves as pastor of John Calvin Presbyterian Church in Annandale, Virginia. You can reach Casey on Twitter @caseyfitzgerald or by email revcasey@johncalvinpres.org. You can see her paintings by visiting http://www.caseypaints.com or listen to her tell stories… Read More
Tuesday Prayer
Spirit of Warmth, As chills reign in the hearts of many,we reach for our spiritual blankets to remove the frigidness surrounding us. Oh how so many words and images and actionshave built a wall of ice between us and our neighbors! Yet there is no ice that you, God, can’t melt.For you are our Great… Read More
Friday Prayer
In John 5, Jesus ask a man, who has been blind for 38 years, if he wants to be made well. This is not a question merely about having vision restored, but a question about the desire to have a completely different life- engaged and participating in community in a way that has been denied… Read More
Thursday Prayer
Gracious God,We repent. The ways we’ve turned from your love. The ways we’ve rejected your community. The ways we’ve abandoned your justice. Holy Love,We repent. The hate in our hearts. The evil in our policies. The greed in our leadership. The lies on our lips. Spirit Divine,We repent. Our tendencies toward apathy. The distractions we… Read More
The Pastoral is Political: Interruptions
I was in the middle of writing The Pastoral is Political post, when someone came into the church to talk to me. We spoke, masked and distanced for an hour, before I began to get messages about the attack on the US Capitol building in Washington, D.C. We cannot pretend this is normal, so I… Read More
Tuesday Prayer
God of light, On the days of shadows and clouds, our souls feel the strain of gray. Will sunlight pierce through the thickness of dread? Will light reach our foreheads, our hands, our spirits? Whether winter clouds or summer storms, erase clouds from the skies. Remove the clouds hovering above our minds and encapsulating our… Read More
Friday Prayer: 1 January 2021
I said to my soul, Soul, we are here. We are here with the aches of the past. We are here with the promise of the future. The past has promise too. That someday there will be meaning and depth and story that we do not yet see. That promise fulfilled does not mean that… Read More
11th Hour Preacher Party: Christmas Leftovers Edition
What do you do with the second Sunday after Christmas? Do you get a jump start on Epiphany, or sing all the Christmas carols that somehow haven’t been sung yet this season? Is this the Sunday for a much-needed vacation, or the Sunday to start a new preaching series for 2021? Does your congregation observe… Read More
