Have you ever had this experience: You decide to watch a movie, and you’re in the mood for something light, something happy. So you choose your DVD at the library or video store or redbox, you make a big bowl of popcorn, and you settle in. You are ready for something fun, something comforting, something…
Here is a call to worship for this upcoming first week of Advent, based on Psalm 80, Isaiah 64, and my own desperate need for Advent this year. (Even if the pastor part of me is not ready for Advent yet.) – – – – We are broken by racism and militarism. Restore us, O…
Believe it or not, Advent begins in less than a month. I’ve been thinking about how I want to live into the holy season this year. I looked around for online retreats; while I found some that look lovely, none of them seemed quite right. So I thought, “I’ll write my own on-line devotions and…
Call to Worship (Isaiah 25:6-9) Hurricanes and floods and environmental havoc; drones and IEDs and handguns; cancer and heart disease and ebola; poverty and injustice and oppression. The ways of death in this world are many. The words of death surround us. The fear of death envelopes us. But we come now to hear a…
As some of you know, this fabulous foursome gathered in Kansas City a few weeks ago to talk to the Mennonite Church USA board. (Well, Stephanie was really just there to glare at people.) I appreciate the opportunity we were given to share about the movement of the Spirit in our communities and the hopes…
[This is an excerpt from a sermon I preached on 1 Peter. My husband, who does not usually provide sermon commentary, said, “It was gimmicky, but you pulled it off.” Clearly he was deeply moved in the Spirit by my words.] Dear Peter, I just wanted to write to you as one church leader…
This week’s prayer of confession comes out of our current series on the shorter epistles, thinking about World Communion Sunday, speaking with the MCUSA Executive Board, and . . . you know . . . life in the church. Prayer of Confession God of each of us, God of all of us, Being church is…
[This reflection is excerpted from a sermon I preached on Hebrews 12:18-29. You can find the full text here and the audio here.] Generally, I find the section headings in Bibles less than helpful. But the section heading for this week’s scripture stopped me in my tracks: “The Mountain of Fear and the…
*This reflection is excerpted from a sermon based on Matthew 18:15-20 that I preached about three years ago. (Funny how the lectionary works like that!) – – – – – The Greek word that gets translated as “church”–ekklesia–shows up on only two occasions in the Gospels. Both in Matthew. The first is: “You are Peter,…
*As of March 1, 2015, there is an official resolution that has been submitted to the MC USA Resolutions Committee. My original “aspirational resolution” was the starting point for the work that many people did to bring into existence the “Becoming a Just Church” resolution. Some of you already know how I feel about the…
Spacious Faith 