*This was originally posted on RevGalsBlogPals on August 14, 2020. 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…
Sure, 2020 has been a rough year with lots of adjustments and some difficult losses. But just think of all the stuff we’ve learned along the way! Talk about “things they didn’t teach us in seminary”! (Except #5. Dr. Graves tried very hard to teach me #5.) So here are The Top 10 Things I’ve…
Dear Clergy Colleagues, It’s rough out there! Between a worldwide pandemic, the attempted overthrow of democracy in the United States, and the projected beer and Spam shortages, 2021 isn’t looking much better than 2020. In the current reality, our jobs are incredibly difficult—emotionally, spiritually, and practically. So here are some helpful things to keep in…
Source of Life,Creative Force,Bearer of BurdensWho longs to gather us under your strong, feathery wings:We are tired of being the parent, the pastor,The figure-outer, the fixer.We grow weary of the weight we carry.We are exhausted from being the one in charge.Except, of course, we’re not in charge,Because if we were, things would not be such…
This is my final week of sabbatical, which means my time of (intense) virtual church visits is coming to an end soon. I’m excited to share with you some more cool things I’ve experienced in worship around the internet. This post is a bit longer than usual because I decided to go ahead and finish…
So far on my mini-May-sabbatical I’ve engaged with about twenty different church worship services: emailed services, live-streamed services, pre-recorded services, Zoom services. Lots of them have been Mennonite, but I’ve also hung out with some Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Disciples of Christ, and non-denominational folks. In my first post about this experience, I suggested some ways to…
I’ve been granted a mini-sabbatical for the month of May, and I’m taking this opportunity to visit several churches. It’s delightful to be able to worship with friends and strangers from afar and I’m deeply encouraged by the creativity and community vitality I see all around the internet. First and foremost, if you are a…
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…
“So, Joanna, what do you do?” My comfort level with this question depends on the context. In this case, I was at a neighborhood get-together with several new neighbors I didn’t know very well. The 79-year-old man asking the question is active in a local conservative independent evangelical church. The 60ish-year-old man also listening in…
Spacious Faith 