School, work, Foosball ... but not always in that order. Since my husband picked up a Foosball table from the curb, where someone else in our new hometown had put it out for the “large items” garbage pick-up day, playing Foosball together has become a staple of our daily routine. I am by far the… Continue reading En-Foosed
Author: LAMPomrenke
A Sermon on Mary and Elizabeth
Gospel: Luke 1:39-55 Women. Black Americans. Asian or Latinx immigrants to this country, or their children. Indigenous, Native American people who, yes, still live here. LGBTQ+ individuals. Any of these folks, were they preaching before you today, would make you deeply uncomfortable. So I’d better do my part for the only one of those marginalized… Continue reading A Sermon on Mary and Elizabeth
A Bible Study about Relational Metaphors for God
Since August, The Faith+Leader, of which I am the editor, has focused on a monthly theme. In December 2021, the theme is "Relationships and Ministry" and our posts will include content about a church leader's closest family relationships all the way to relationally reaching out to inactive members. I recruit a Bible study post to… Continue reading A Bible Study about Relational Metaphors for God
What a “Father” God Looks Like to Me
My highest “score” on spiritual gift inventories is always the gift of “faith.” That’s seems a little silly; don’t we all have that gift? In my case, the spiritual gift of faith shows up in my decision-making: I trust God and act on that trust with strong confidence. Why am I the way I am?… Continue reading What a “Father” God Looks Like to Me
Game-ified
We have gone all-virtual in our household. My husband is using his medical degree to take care of patients virtually via a cutting edge app. I recruit and edit written resources for church leaders with a team that runs online courses, spread out geographically from Tennessee to Texas to Utah. Both of our kids are… Continue reading Game-ified
Doing New Things: What I’m Learning from Pool Maintenance
I’ve already promised my husband that the moment he is here to stay, pool maintenance becomes his responsibility. I never pictured myself as a person with the means to have a pool, nor does it make sense with our 1904 home, but there it is: an in-ground pool put in decades ago. And our kids… Continue reading Doing New Things: What I’m Learning from Pool Maintenance
The Story of the Blue House
It was late January 2021, after the inauguration but still in the depths of winter. We had received the DVD in the mail from Netflix of the new live action movie Mulan. Stefan and our oldest daughter watched it together Friday evening, but the younger one thought she might be scared, so she and I… Continue reading The Story of the Blue House
Leap-frogging
Leap-frogging technologies are a theme in our household conversations these days. When large swaths of people previously did not have access to certain improvements to quality of life, and a new way of creating access is developed to remove the barriers, people who never could get services in the first wave suddenly join the network… Continue reading Leap-frogging
“Embodied” sermon for 2nd Sunday of Easter
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
Beyond Congregational Ministry: What Can a Pastor Do?
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?