From the daughter of a RevGal teaching in Japan: This past Saturday I went to a local mall in Tokushima to do some shopping with my girlfriend, J. As we were walking to the ATMs, a few preteen girls and a mom came walking toward us from the opposite direction. I heard the girls start… Read More
The Pastoral Is Political: Release Barabbas
“Release Barabbas for us!” (Luke 23:18) In Bangladesh, an 18-year-old student named Nusrat Jahan Rafi has died from the trauma of being set on fire, an attacked that caused 80% burn injuries on her body. The student had accused the school principal, an influential local leader, of attempted rape. Her family received threats after the… Read More
Wednesday Prayer
Holy One, Thank you for a new day with new opportunities to grow, new possibilities to love, new intentions to be more like You in the world; even if it is only within our own small world to start. As we lean into the rest of the week, cause us to lean on You, to… Read More
The Pastoral is Political: Connecting columbus
CW: I can’t avoid talking about violence today, so if you aren’t in a place to read about that right now, please tend to your heart and maybe come back later. If you’re a white woman in particular (like me), I do hope you come back, or stretch your resilience muscles to take this in… Read More
Narrative Lectionary: Called to Decolonize (Genesis 12:1-9)
Later this month will mark the one year anniversary of Hurricane Maria’s devastation of Puerto Rico as its 3.3 million residents still reeled from the impact of the often forgotten Hurricane Irma which hit the island just two weeks before. As I type these words, I whisper the name Raúl Pagán, my father’s cousin—que en… Read More
RCL: Toward a Worthy Life
“Live a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called,” writes the author of Ephesians. I can’t help but wonder if we have all forgotten that we are supposed to be living a life worthy of the love and grace we have been given. I don’t see much evidence of people striving… Read More
Wednesday Prayer
“A sound was heard in Ramah, the sound of crying in bitter grief. Rachel was crying for her children. She refused to be comforted because they were dead.” Matthew 2:17-19 GOD’S WORD Translation “God of our weary years, God of our silent tears, Thou who hast brought us thus far on the way…”[i] Save… Read More
The Pastoral Is Political: It’s All Connected
On this auspicious day, my attorney is pleading my case in my capitol city, having been arrested in the General Assembly building for “trespassing.” I spent a large part of my summer participating in the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival. Convened by Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II and Rev. Dr. Liz… Read More
The Pastoral is Political: Robbed of Full Humanity
Note: many of the articles linked to this article contain profanity, slurs, and triggers. In 1915, my grandfather was driven from his homeland and sentenced to die at the age of six. His crime was being born an Armenian in Turkey. American Ambassador Henry Morganthau, Sr. asked Talaat Pasha, lead architect of the Armenian Genocide,… Read More
Friday Prayer: Lamenting and Confessing
This week I was fortunate to be present for the A.C.T. Now! Anti-Racism Rally on the National Mall in Washington, DC. This prayer was born from my experience. When we do not see in one another the Imago Dei, we “other” them. May all who are Called be change agents for reconciliation and peace. Oh… Read More
