Mary gave consent. So Mary does not need to say #MeToo, at least not about the incident for which we all know her. When the angel of the Lord announces the plan for Mary to carry within her and birth Emmanuel, she questions, but ultimately agrees. Yet #MeToo is not just about sexual harassment or… Continue reading Mary Knew the Risks of #MeToo
It took me a while to figure out why it made me feel so uncomfortable. Three words, a title on the cover of an organization's seasonal magazine: “Delivered From Darkness.” For years I've sponsored a child in school in Kenya, through this Christian organization. They do faithful, effective work, even though they are not my… Continue reading Light & darkness, grace and truth
If you wait for inspiration to write, you are a waiter, not a writer. Among many other things I learned from Anne Lammott's Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life during my junior year of high school, this one has stuck with me. I know I am a writer, and was drawn to… Continue reading A Writer Writes
The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Sometimes this sounds like a promise; sometimes a threat. Our younger child has strong feelings about nearly everything and might just be the most determined person I know, except for her father. These are not just signs of her particular age, but seem to be enduring qualities,… Continue reading The Apple Doesn’t Fall Far
We can assume that Jesus was a breastfed baby; after all, he survived. Before the human-made miracle of baby formula and without access to a potential wet nurse, breastfeeding was the only option. So that first Christmas (which I seriously doubt was a silent night) certainly included Mary breastfeeding her baby, Jesus. Even being the… Continue reading Breastfeeding God
Holding onto our feet, we rolled from side to side on our backs, following lots of back-bending and twisting. “Everybody loves a 'happy baby'!” quipped the yoga instructor. That is what this move is called, but my train of thought derailed at that point and I started pondering: “Yes, why do so many people prefer… Continue reading The Happy Baby
Martin Luther posted the 95 theses on the outside of the church door to initiate debate. Dr. Corrine Carvahlo, a speaker at the Joint Ministerium (gathering of pastors and deacons from both metro synods of our church body) this morning noted that detail about this day 500 years ago which sparked the Reformation. It struck… Continue reading Posted where?
(May this, and I, be a resource. I'd be glad to correspond with anyone planning a church's closing worship service.) The closing service of this particular church I was shepherding, unusually, included Confirmation/ Affirmation of Baptism: 4 teenagers had taken years of instruction, but had not yet been officially "confirmed" and wanted to do that… Continue reading Liturgy for Closing
Gospel: Matthew 20: 1-16 Inspiration for this sermon came from Stanley Saunders' commentary on Working Preacher. Jesus does NOT start telling this parable by saying, “God is like a wealthy landowner.” So why do we insist that the wealthy, capricious landowner, wielding power and money arbitrarily, represents God? We make the point of this parable:… Continue reading That’s not a God I recognize
“Our church is like a family,” or “We are the family of God!” So many of us say some version of that metaphor on a regular basis. I'm pretty sure I heard it within the very first meeting I had with many of your Council leaders, at a coffee shop in St. Paul. But what… Continue reading “This church is like a family…”
Lee Ann M. Pomrenke 