Monday Prayer May 16, 2022

We are grieving, Holy God, all of the senseless deaths. Over six million from pandemic alone, and countless more from famine and economic struggle. Unexpected ones — preventable ones — from lack of access to healthcare resources, and let’s not forget the toll of war. Because if anything defines “senseless” it is the acts of… Read More

Saturday Prayer, July 10th, 2021

Even while we are starting to relax the rulesand easing restrictionswe are seeing other placesmoving even deeper into the pandemicand we remind ourselvesthat it is not yet over I am seeing friendsI am worshiping in communityI am watching children playing togetherand I think that it might be overbut then I look at Japanand I think… Read More

The pastor is political: global citizens

I had just started taking a weekly training online when Covid-19 shut down the entire world. It was a small group of people who gathered on Thursdays to learn to mentor coach, and I was the only student born in the United States. My classmates dialed in from China, India, Belgium, and Atlanta, Georgia. As… Read More

The pastor is political: choose your own adventure

More often than not, I’ve woken up lately feeling like an elephant was curled up on my chest. Here in the United States we find ourselves in the midst of a pandemic that remains relatively unchecked because our leaders lack the political will to make hard choices. Of systemic racism that manifests in new ways… Read More

Friday prayer: communing together

God in all times and places, this weekend is the annual observance of World Communion Sunday. This occasion seems particularly poignant this year. Some clergy and congregations aren’t authorized to celebrate the Lord’s Supper virtually. Many of those that are will do so from separate spaces, given the dangers of the pandemic. And yet, the… Read More

The Pastoral is Political: Choosing Our Normal

Our families, our churches, our schools, our communities. Almost everywhere in our environment there has been a strong urge to “get back to normal.” But it seems to me that the normal we left behind is not the normal we will be able to return to. Nor should we try. I’m thinking mainly about congregations,… Read More

Wits-Ends-Day: Church COVID-19 Survey Results

How comfortable would you be coming to in-person worship? Very comfortable. (33%) Fairly comfortable. (34%) Not at all comfortable. (33%) Comments: “Covid isn’t real and God will protect us from it.” “If we don’t meet in person next week I’m finding another church that really believes in God.” “If we meet in person within the… Read More

Pastoral Care and Health Care

O Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away. You are acquainted with all my ways. For it was you who formed my inward parts; I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. – Psalm 139:1-14… Read More