Beloveds,
A student once asked anthropologist Margaret Mead what she considered to be the first sign that a culture had become civilized. You might rightly think that it would be something like a tool for sowing seed, or a fishhook, but Mead replied that it … read more.
There are lessons that we have to learn over and over again. Many of them aren’t all that hard, but they don’t take the first, second or seventh or eighth time. Some of those lessons we never get completely right, or forget too easily … read more.
I served a congregation in Woodstock, Vermont back in the mid-1990s. I learned about winter weather. And a LOT about snow.
It might have been the first time we had a big snow that I decided to not preach the sermon that I had planned, but … read more.
At the Ministers Professional Days I attended this last week, our conversations and our worship were filled with exclamations of exhaustion and the wish for words of hope and reassurance for us to offer to the folks in our congregations. To be honest, most … read more.
Back in the years when I was in seminary, I heard a story about a colleague of one of the large churches. He had been a successful minister, but knew a lot of grief and loss in his life. One teenaged child had drown … read more.
“You should say something about that school shooting!” my internal voice scolded. “It’s horrible and people are hurting!”
Ministers often face this kind of situation. Shocked and feeling more numb than in pain, I had no words to say, nothing to write, no wise proclamations, … read more.
I know this will come as a big shock to most of you, but not everything you read on the internet is true. As I begin the long journey of treatment for cancer, I’m discovering again the level of wild tales that out there. … read more.
Back in the 1990s when I worked for the Night Ministry, we held an annual Christmas dinner. It took place in the basement of a nearby Presbyterian church, and it was a grand event. Churches donated cooked turkeys, buckets of mashed potatoes and stuffing, … read more.
The rally was going to be held at Chinese Reconciliation Park. I was dressed in black and sporting my bright yellow Standing on the Side of Love stole, so I stood out in the crowd. The organizers I asked if I’d be able to … read more.
I’ve said more times than I can remember that it’s been a year of trouble and turmoil. Maybe it has something to do with the way social media shapes our lives, the constant blare of the 24 hour news cycle, and the if-it-bleeds-it-leads nature of … read more.
