We Pray with Her is a collection of 100 reflections and almost 50 prayers written by United Methodist clergy women under 40. Each entry is brief, which makes it nice for either daily devotional reading or an occasional dip. Here are some of the things I love most about this book: The writers consistently use…
For this week: I love this week’s Lectionary readings from 1 Samuel and wanted to share links to a couple of things I’ve written about Hannah: Some thoughts on Hannah’s prayer: 1 Samuel 1:4-20 (with a link to a full sermon) Reflections on Hannah’s song: 1 Samuel 2:1-10 I’m less fond of this week’s Gospel…
Holy One, Giver of life, Healer of our hearts, Healer of this world, We gather together in grief over the eleven people who were killed at the Tree of Life Synagogue, and over the pain and loss their families and communities are suffering; grief over the lies and hatred that seem rampant in our country…
I will bless the Lord at all times; We will bless our God at all times. I will praise the Holy One with my voice. Let us exalt God’s name together. We are seeking, And God will answer us. We cry out for help, And God will deliver us. God will deliver us from our fears. God…
This is an excerpt from a sermon preached on October 7, 2018. Job 1-2:1-10 While the question of why people suffer is at the heart of Job, there is another question I’ve been thinking about as I read the first two chapters of Job this week. I’ve been thinking about this question because our…
We gather for World Communion Sunday in a world where women face restrictions to their freedom and threats to their bodies. Sexual intimidation and assault—against all genders—is used as a weapon of war and a means of establishing power. Survivors of sexual assault who dare to report are too often disbelieved, blamed for the “incident,”…
I am inclined to believe the allegations of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and Deborah Ramirez against Brett Kavanaugh. Ultimately, though, I do not know what happened between Kavanaugh and these women, so I can’t speak about him or these incidents with any authority. What I do know for certain is that much of the rhetoric…
It has been a whirlwind summer and I have sorely neglected this blog. So this post is a bit of a liturgy catch-up. Here are a few links related to this coming Sunday’s Lectionary scriptures, and below that are some worship pieces I’ve written and used over the summer months. Remember that much of my…
Ten years ago today, I was ordained as a pastor in Mennonite Church USA. It’s an odd kind of anniversary—one that feels like it should be celebrated somehow, but one for which there are no set celebration models. So I’ve spent my day being a pastor—answering email, writing a sermon, making phone calls, visiting a…
Denial is My Spiritual Practice. (And Other Failures of Faith) by Rachel G. Hackenberg and Martha Spong. Church Publishing, New York. I received my “advance reader’s copy” of Denial is My Spiritual Practice about a week after it was available for purchase. Which is bad in the sense that I couldn’t get this review done before…
Hello friends. You might have noticed that it is Holy Week. And I’m a pastor. So not a lot of blogging going on right now. But in the past, I have written stuff that pertains to this particular season. I thought I’d just share a quick reminder about how to find it: You can go…
I read this week about a family gathered around a table for a nice Thanksgiving meal. Things were going well until Uncle Larry said, “Hey, Steve, you need to pay me back that $200 I loaned you last year.” And Steve said, “I don’t have the money to pay you back, Uncle Larry.” And Uncle…
