Consoling Spirit- For every spirit waiting for the other shoe to drop, we pray to you.For every person feeling the ache of slowly releasing muscles, we pray to you.For the peace of the souls who did not live to see this day, we pray to you. For those whose work made our todays possible, we… Read More
Tuesday Prayer
God of all silence and noise, In our quiet sanctuaries, where a myriad of sounds have been absent for nearly a year, may the silence hold the stories of our faith communities until our return. May the Spirit of stillness pray for the ones who are lonely and the ones who are sick. May your… Read More
Friday Prayer
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
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
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
Worship words — baptism of the Lord
It’s hard to imagine Baptism of the Lord Sunday online, but many of us (not all, of course) will find ourselves looking for a way to engage in a traditionally tactile liturgy in a digital way. If you have found that our liturgical language is not quite up to the task, here are some starting… 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
Worship Words: Christmas 2/Epiphany
Do you know what day it is? As I type, it’s Tuesday, 29 December 2020. If you’re in the southern hemisphere, enjoy the fresh foods of the season. If you’re in the northern hemisphere, remember to get your Vitamin D and drink plenty of water. We are in the season wherein many pastors lose track of… Read More