A video of this sermon is available here. The Holy Gospel according to St. John, the 20th chapter, beginning with the 19th verse. When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear, Jesus came and stood… Continue reading “Embodied” sermon for 2nd Sunday of Easter
Perhaps where you currently serve in parish ministry is no longer the right place to stay, but there are no other options for calls in your geographic area, and you are unable to uproot and move. Perhaps you are part of the wave of pastors burnt out by leading through the pandemic, or your own… Continue reading Beyond Congregational Ministry: What Can a Pastor Do?
Preachers, I know how difficult it is to say something “new” about a text that recurs every year, the Sunday after Easter, with Thomas’ doubts echoing off our own. This year I am offering to preach that Sunday for you, in a pre-recorded online format, on the difference that embodied experiences of God make in… Continue reading I’ll Preach for You, the 2nd Sunday of Easter
The Cast Iron Skillet and Vocation The cast iron skillet has a permanent place on the front burners of our stove. I cook some part of our meal with it just about every evening. And never wash it. I believe on some level, this is why my husband got it – because he knew my… Continue reading Seasoned
This pandemic is definitely an era I am tempted to just keep my head down and “get through” by running on autopilot. This fall I felt like I was in near-constant motion to get through the pattern of every week: church communications, distance learning for the kids, editing, e-mailing, staff meeting, sermon prep and recording,… Continue reading Turning Off Autopilot: More Than Just Getting Through It
I used to believe that quality creative writing required empty time and space for my ideas to percolate. Sermons are a primary example of this for me. I tend to get irritable the day before I want to have a draft done if it is not yet in hand, unable to fully focus on anything… Continue reading Creating without Getting Away
Late last spring I wrote about 3 values for liminal times for congregations, based on my experience as an intentional interim pastor. I was trying to frame the stressful adaptation to the pandemic as an opportunity for congregations to learn and grow. Now emerging from the post-Christmas stupor, we are most certainly tired of stretching… Continue reading The Freedom of an Interim Leader
In the midst of frequent cries of “this is not what I trained for!” from church leaders during this pandemic, I stepped into one role that I must have been preparing for since ordination. Last May I began to work as a very part-time contractor for Luther Seminary’s Faith+Lead, the separate but related continuing education… Continue reading The Joy of Asking Others to Write
It is awfully difficult to be a person of faith in isolation. There are ascetics who have done it, but it is such a challenge that they are definitely the exception, not the norm. For the vast majority of us, a faith community is a core part of the life of faith. We most often… Continue reading My Faith (Writing) Community
In pre-pandemic times I knew how to answer the question, “But if you're always leading church services, when do you worship?” I encounter the Holy Spirit in the preparation of the sermon, and even sometimes in the prayers and hymn selection. The insight surprises me every time, like a little awakening, and I am grateful… Continue reading This Is Not Worship At Its Best For Preachers Either
