On March 24, 1980, Salvadoran Catholic priest Oscar Romero was shot and killed while celebrating mass. Following Jesus had led Romero to speak out against the abuses of the Salvadoran elite and to work for the rights of the people of El Salvador. These prophetic words and actions led many powerful people to perceive him…
Holy God, You led Abraham and Sarah to a new land; You led your people across the Egyptian border to freedom; You sent your angel to warn Joseph to take Mary and Jesus to a foreign country, because their homeland was not safe. You are a God who calls us to love and care for…
Holy God, Our nation is involved in another war– We read yesterday of missiles launched in Libya which is the other side of the world, but also in our homes; in our hearts. Gadhafi tortures and kills his own people, Desperately grasping at power with weapons, threats, force. The Libyan rebels launch bloody attacks, hoping…
I attended a preaching workshop at First Baptist Church here in Lawrence yesterday. The kind American Baptist folks let me hang out with them and learn from them for awhile. (Thanks!) Something one of the presenters, Matt Sturtevant, asked has particularly stuck in my head: As preachers, are we answering the questions our people are…
from Mennonite Central Committee. Let us continue to hold the people of Japan in our prayers. God of healing and mercy, we come before you with our hearts filled with grief as we see the devastation in Japan. We pray that your presence would be felt by those who are grieving, who are injured, who…
I wrote these worship pieces for the Second Sunday of Lent (Year A). They draw on Genesis 12:1-4 and John 3:1-17. Prayer of Confession Gracious God, You call us to a new land, a new birth. Yet our feet and our spirits hesitate. Forgive our laziness. Forgive our fear. Forgive our selfishness. Forgive our comfort.…
Here is the second post in my “Ask the Pastor” series. As a pastor of a congregation that has a public statement of full inclusion for gays and lesbians, and as a pastor who has officiated at a same-sex wedding, I have been asked (more than once) how I reconcile my views on homosexuality with…
My hands are dirty from smearing ashes on people’s foreheads. My eyes sting from wiping them with ashen fingers. My nose tickles from the ash I’ve breathed in. From dust you have come. To dust you shall return. In the meantime there is grace. Grace that looks a lot like a smudged cross. Like sooty…
Today’s worship piece is small. As you may have seen, I’ve been putting a lot of my worship planning energies into tonight’s Ash Wednesday service. Today’s piece is an offertory prayer that we will likely use throughout Lent. ~Blessings Gracious God, through our offerings of worship, of time, of money, we seek to make space…
I love these lines from a Wendell Berry poem: Best of any song is bird song in the quiet, but first you must have the quiet This year I’m thinking of Lent as an opportunity to experience the quiet before the glorious bird song of Easter. Last year, I took on a major Lenten discipline—I…
Spacious Faith 