Here is a worship service designed for families with children to do together on Christmas morning. A brief time to acknowledge the incredible gift of Jesus before we start tearing into all the gifts under the tree. This worship service is my Christmas gift to you! Along with this blessing (adapted from Sunday’s sermon): May…
I took a picture of our lit Advent candles for my blog post a few days ago. My 14-year-old daughter saw the picture and said, “Wow. Our house looks pretty in that picture.” Not to say that our house in reality is not also pretty–in it’s own messy, disorganized way. It’s just to say that,…
I’ve been having lots of fun over at Tony Jone’s blog, Theoblogy, today. He has some theologian trading cards to give away and is asking folks to contribute limericks if they want a chance to win! I have become a bit addicted to writing these little lilting gems, and ended up with four of them.…
Here is our candle-lighting call to worship for this coming Sunday. The Advent Conspiracy theme is “Love All.” One: This morning, two days before Christmas, we light the four candles of Advent: the candles of hope, peace, joy, and love. All: We gather to worship our God, whose love reaches to the heavens. One: We…
You may have seen this ad making the rounds on Facebook. It’s for one of the guns used by the shooter at Sandy Hook Elementary. In addition to discussions about gun control and mental health care, the recent killings are also prompting a much-needed discussion of gender roles and societal definitions of “manhood.” We do…
This week’s Advent reflection is a guest post by Joe Casad, a member of the church I serve. He shared these thoughts in worship on Sunday, and I wanted to pass along the humor and the tenderness of what he shared. Much thanks to Joe for allowing me to post this! – – – –…
I was working on our Christmas Eve program Friday when I heard the news about the shootings in Connecticut. Shootings at an elementary school. An elementary school. Dead bodies–little bodies–sprawled on the floor. Bloody children. Wailing parents. It was hard to get back into the Christmas spirit after hearing that news. Hard to write about…
I’ve just posted the Christmas Eve liturgy we’ll be using at Peace Mennonite this year. It’s basically scriptures and hymns–like we do every year. But I’ve been absorbing inspiration from lots of my pastor-blogger friends and wanted to do something a little bit different. So thanks to Marci Glass for suggesting the song “Better Day”…
God of the broken-hearted, God of the broken heart, Receive our sighs too deep for words. In your time by your grace heal us. In this meantime hold us as we weep. Hold us and rock us with the rhythm of your own grief-struck quaking body. Amen (I wrote this several months ago when I…
As a pastor, I know that Advent is a time of preparation, a time of pondering, a time of patient waiting. It is a season to contemplate the growing darkness of our days and appreciate the promise held in the darkness of Mary’s womb. It is a time pregnant with the possibility of recognizing and…
Spacious Faith 