This is the public comment that I gave to the Douglas County Commission on February 20, 2019, regarding their proposal to hire a construction manager for the jail expansion project: The Douglas County jail population has grown 15 times faster than our general population since 2011. And I have not heard any good explanations as to…
Let us trust in God and do good, So we can live in our communities in safety. Let us delight in our God, And gratefully receive the desires of our hearts. Let us commit our ways to God, Because when we trust, God acts. Let us be still before God, And wait patiently. Let us…
Originally posted on Spacious Faith:
The treats Grace and I made for her party: pink pretzels. I began the celebration of Valentine’s Day yesterday by preaching on adultery and divorce. (Gotta love the Lectionary!) In about an hour I will continue the celebration by hanging out with a classroom full of first-graders who are ingesting…
Imagine a graduate student working late into the night at her computer in a coffee shop. She’s thinking and staring at the blank screen, starting and stopping. She finishes a paragraph, gets herself a cup of coffee, and sits back down at the screen with mug in hand. Her eyes flash over the paragraph she…
Holy God, You call us “beloved” And you love us with a fierceness that is at once unsettling and comforting. May your Divine love dwell within us and be enacted through us so that No matter what language we speak Love will dance within each word we say; When you call us to stand up…
In God we take refuge. God hears us and saves us. God is our rock and our fortress. God is our hope. And so we come, seeking God’s peace. We come, offering God praise. We gather together in worship. The intent is that the worship leader reads the plain text, the congregation reads the bold,…
When we meet Jeremiah he is young—scholars think probably about 19. He is from a priestly family and, as far as we know, was living a fairly comfortable life. Then God shows up and says to Jeremiah: “You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be…
In February of 2013, when my dad went into the hospital, I was overwhelmed by the intense, unbearable hope that my dad be made well. At first, this was hope for a diagnosis. I thought that if we could just name his disease, they could make Dad better. I was wrong. When I got what…
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…
