Like a preacher in yoga pants I have come, a new Paul, to tell of your integrity in Christ, as a shared identity. But first you must put down your phone or laptop… Go ahead, trust me, she says with a mischievous grin. Back already? Great, now that I have your full attention!! Put it back down and put one hand on your belly and one hand on your heart. Close your eyes and fill up your belly like a... Read more
I cried on Easter Sunday…actually, Jesus my bridegroom wept because again He went unrecognized. It’s a sad feeling deep in the heart, when a pastor doesn’t recognize the risen One he is preaching about knowing so well. Not much has changed in over 2,000 years. It’s Good Friday morning –coffee with an old friend chatting about God, yoga, healing, trauma, + racial tensions when over walks the pastor of a local church we used to attend. He had his back... Read more
As the race towards the presidential nomination builds momentum, the rhetoric between candidates is becoming increasingly vitriolic. In the case of Donald Trump, months of hurling insults at racial minorities, Muslims and his fellow republican candidates has lead to fits of violence between protestors and supporters at his rallies. Now it looks as if one —if not both— party conventions will be contested, increasing the likelihood of future conflict. The tone of our current political climate scares me. It’s not... Read more
What’s In Your “Oops Box”? I was recently reading about creative activities to do with my kids. One of the things that I came across was called an “Oops Box”. What a great idea – an Oops Box is a box wherein you toss scraps of paper or fabric and other small trinkets and things to be repurposed into a craft with your kids…or, into a beautiful work of art. [photo by Mimi Schirber] Repurposed. I love that word, “repurposed”.... Read more
I love all things zombie. I have never been a Trekkie or a SciFi Superfan — although I do love Marvel Films — but since I first saw The Night of the Living Dead as a pre-teen in my parent’s sunroom one summer afternoon I was hooked on all things zombie-genre. This intimate and lifelong relationship hit a new depth when The Walking Dead came on AMC. It was the zombie genre that I loved but extended beyond the disappointingly too-short... Read more
March 12 is the 26th anniversary of the Capitol Crawl, one of the most significant events in disability history. Michael Winter, former director of the Berkeley Center for Independent Living, had this to say about the crowd of disabled people crawling up the steps of the United States Capitol. “The night before they asked for volunteers to. . . crawl up the steps, and I thought it was a great idea. Some people thought it would be really demeaning to... Read more
In my last post, I shared about some unscheduled Spring cleaning – an oven fire, a fire extinguisher, and a massive mess. Well, I am still finishing the cleaning. It seems to grow in scale, the closer I get to the finish line. I’m not sure how that’s possible, but it’s what it feels like. One thing this whole event did was derail my attempt at Lent this year. I attempted a food based commitment, and losing the ability to... Read more
The following sermon was written by my husband, Garth Stevens-Jennings and I for the student lead Wednesday Night Worship service at Wesley Theological Seminary. We wrote the sermon as a reflection on Amos 5:21-24: “I hate, I despise your festivals.” This is strong language. Its frightening to think that all of the work that we put into worship services might be turned away by God. How must the folks that Amos is speaking to be feeling when they look around... Read more
To me, the words, “I know God,” have much less chance of being accurate than the words, “I feel God.” What if God is really illuminated, not in explanations and expectations, in verses and shared definitions, but in each person’s experience and enactment of love, justice, solidarity, compassion? What if God is something more thoroughly embodied than understood? Read more
Sunday morning, as we were preparing for brunch, our oven tried to eat itself. We are super thankful that everything is okay. We have to replace the oven. But it could have been worse. We did however have to use a fire extinguisher and that created a huge mess. One that has taken several days of intense clean up, an early unscheduled spring cleaning. The chemicals in the extinguisher can hurt electronics and damage other surfaces, so everything has to... Read more
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