I know it’s not Wednesday, but I figured that would be a little late to post this particular “Worship Piece.” For the first time this year our church will have two services on Ash Wednesday. We will have the contemplative service at 7:30 (posted here), and a child-friendly service at 6:30. I wanted to post…
I know some of you are interested in the status of my ministerial credentials. They have been under review by my conference’s Leadership Commission because I officiated a wedding for two women. (You can read some of the background here and here.) I received a phone call this afternoon from the Commission chair, and he…
**You can find a more recent Ash Wednesday service here. Next Wednesday, March 9, is Ash Wednesday. Here is the service I have put together for my congregation. As always, feel free to use any of this material and adapt it for your own context. I always appreciate a note from those who find my…
Sunday was my parents’ 40th anniversary. We had a small family party for them on Saturday, and my brother and I both wrote on our cards: “Thank you for setting such a good example of marriage for me.” I know it sounds a little cheesy, but we both mean it deeply. I consider myself to…
Last week I had two conversations that included the phrase, “I’ve just got to ask you about . . . “. I was honestly tickled to know that my pastoral perspective is such a hot commodity. So I’ve decided to include some “Ask the Pastor” posts on this blog. Every once in awhile I will…
This weekend I took my 12-year-old daughter to see Justin Bieber: Never Say Never. And I have to say that I just don’t get it. I mean, I get that Justin is cute–if you’re twelve. And I get that he has a good singing voice. And I get that he has a pretty amazing stage…
Words for Anointing Happy Wednesday, everyone! Someone else is doing most of the worship planning for this coming Sunday, which means I haven’t written any new liturgies for the week. I’m posting the words I speak to people when I do anointings. We do not offer anointing at my church very often; when we do,…
This call to worship is based on a piece from Seekers Church. Their site contains many beautiful liturgies–it’s one of my go-to resources. The offertory prayer is one I wrote awhile back. As always, feel free to borrow/adapt these for your own use. Call to Worship: In the presence of our Creator, who called the…
When I saw that one of the Lectionary readings for this week was from Leviticus, I promptly (and, yes, sarcastically) informed my husband that we don’t hear enough sermons based on Leviticus. Well, you know what’s coming next, right? I’ll be preaching on Leviticus this week. It’s a stunning, beautiful text. Actually, I am drawn…
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 way too much sugar. For now, though, I want to reflect on the true meaning of…
Spacious Faith 