Ancestors have been coming up with more frequency than usual in what I'm reading and reflecting on lately. In her video message and article around the Commemoration of the Emanuel 9 June 17, 2020, Pastor Kwame Pitts speaks about what it means to venerate African-American ancestors who struggled against racial injustice in their own times,… Continue reading The Cloud of Witnesses
I wrote a blogpost about editing right after I turned in my full book manuscript last November. I wondered at the time if I would have anything new to say once I got further into the process. Now that I have passed (nearly) 3 more phases of editing, finally receiving the somewhat ominous words in… Continue reading Editing: Parts 2, 3 & 4
People of God, We'll make meaning out of all this later. Or as Olaf sings in Frozen 2, “This will all make sense when I am older!” I wish, Olaf, I wish that were true. We will interpret and spin what God did throughout this crisis, for us or through us, afterward. We will try… Continue reading Recognizing Jesus on the Road Now
It is after Easter, when there are glimmers of resurrection, and whispers that perhaps the traumatic ending will not last forever. We are also getting to the point of the coronavirus pandemic when we are asking what it will mean. There is pleading (please, let this terrifying collective experience mean something of value) and warnings… Continue reading The Women Insist: Resurrection Must Change Us
The novel coronavirus has gotten into my extended family already, and I was asked for a message specifically about living through this horrible time right now. The Scripture passage that came to mind first is Jesus praying with his disciples in Gethsemane, found in Mark 14, among other places. First, a word about what I… Continue reading COVID-19 Sermon
No, I do not really have the time. But yes, I will absolutely help with your book launch! I will show up to your launch events because I know how much it means for people to show up. Especially in a care-giving profession where the “ministry of presence” is part of both my roles as… Continue reading Of Course I Will Help With Your Book Launch
Sometimes during MN winters, cancelling worship is the right thing to do. Here's the sermon I would have preached, if it hadn't have been for the snowstorm.
God of love and promise, we bring our full selves and many emotions to this moment in the life of this congregation. As we gather for the annual meeting, we pray for honesty and hope in equal measure, that we might acknowledge to one another how our hearts are responding to a long-time pastor's leaving,… Continue reading A Prayer for the Annual Meeting in an Interim
I walked into a room covered in rose petals, with bouquets of roses in containers placed all around the room. My love - whom I had been dating for about 2 months but already knew I would marry - had invited me to the Medicine Ball, a fancy affair for students at his medical school… Continue reading Grand Gestures and Everyday Care
For the last month, I have been editing my book. I've added about one and a half chapters of new material to what I had, but the majority of the work to get my manuscript ready for its deadline has been re-working what I wrote last spring. This work has revealed much about my initial… Continue reading Editing
