The Pastoral is Political: Can Fear Be Your Superpower?

It is exhausting to keep your opinions to yourself.  Even more taxing is holding the gospel inside when you know it should be spoken. Yet that is where many of us have found ourselves this past year. As I read, listen, and watch the news there are always stories that cry out for God’s mercy… Read More

Friday prayer: don’t fear the naysayers

“By what power or by what name did you do this?” they said to Peter, not caring for his message, hearing in it the threat of imminent change. Yes, that Peter – one of Jesus’ twelve closest companions, the rock on which Christ declared he would build his church. If people argued with Peter, is… Read More

Friday prayer: the nights are long

“I’m afraid of the dark” whispered a tender voice beside my groggy head. I followed the voice’s owner down the hall into the room dimly illumined by his nightlight and under his comic book-themed bedsheets. I snuggled him as he vibrated with anxious energy.  It was all I could do as he struggled with his… Read More

Wednesday Prayer

God, please teach us how to prayWith our voteWith our walletsWith our masksWith our bodiesWith our work God, please teach us how to prayThrough the fearThrough the struggleThrough the injusticeThrough the hateThrough the complacency   God, please teach us how to prayIn loveFor loveOffering loveEmbodying loveIncreasing love God, please teach us how to prayAnd please,… Read More

Sunday Prayer: Woes in the Wilderness

Your people are famished, O God. We are hungry for kindness and compassion. We are starving for thoughtful dialogue. We long for caring interaction. In this wilderness journey called Lent, we are facing the demons inside us, and fearful that we will not be able to stand firm in your Word. Send your Holy Spirit… Read More

RCL: Praise and … Something Ugly

It must be Christmas 1, Year C because the dreaded “slaughter of the innocents” passage is the Gospel text this week. Of course, there are other options and most of us will choose one of them. Just in case you are feeling called away from God’s reclaiming of God’s people in Isaiah, or the joyful… Read More