I hoped – Lord, how hard I hoped – that the start to this school year would feel different than the last one. It does. But instead of knowing I’m doing the right thing for me and my house by keeping my kid at home, I’m so scared that I’ve shipped him off to get… 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
Saturday prayer: Messy
Holy One, Life is messy right now. Nothing is neat and tidy, and all of our traditions and expectations from previous Advent seasons lie in pieces. How we need a reminder that all is well and you are still in the heavens. We hold those we love close in our memories, if not by our… 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
Wednesday Prayer
God, we can’t even remember what day it is These times still seem so surreal A pandemic Constant political unrest A Black man shot down while jogging Babies in cages Yet we still sing, “It is well with my soul…” Willing it. Believing it. Working to make it so. But how can it be? How… Read More
