It can be confusing… The Week of Compassion is both an organization, AND an actual week of the year. This week, to be exact. WoC is the humanitarian aid ministry of the Christian Church, Disciples of Christ. And while they do work all year long– and our congregations support this shared ministry in every season– this is the time when we celebrate, emphasize, and generally beat the drum for this important mission. So today we have the gift of a guest... Read more
Here’s the good news. And the bad news. Conservative evangelicals are getting nervous about Donald Trump. It’s good news because they SHOULD be nervous. This whole thing is bananas. Frighteningly absurd, brown and mushy bananas. The bad news: the only reason they’re worried is they think he might be a closet liberal. I just…I don’t… I can’t even… WHAT?? Do they know what liberal MEANS? Have they met us? What brand of progress are they mistaking for Trump’s mind-melting ideology? Popular... Read more
It is early days. A long road stretches out between here and November. I know the campaign crazy is bound to get worse before it gets better. But I am already shying away from the t.v. during debates and town halls. I am already flipping away from NPR when I hear certain voices, and scanning past certain things in my newsfeed. It throws me into fits of anxiety and/or despair, not necessarily in that order; the fear-mongering, mis-information and downright hatred... Read more
It’s all heavy sometimes. Life. Ministry. Lent. Winter. An election year. All of it. Some days it is all just heavy. My heart is especially heavy as Lent begins this year, with sadness for a family that suffered a terrible loss last week. I let that heaviness settle into Ash Wednesday. I let it preach the sermon on Sunday. I am learning to sit with it in prayer; I am holding space for it, indefinitely. I am an Enneagram Seven (the cheerleader! the... Read more
I’ve been planning this for weeks. An intentional out-of-office beginning to Lent; traveling to different parts of town with ashes and blessings to share. Mostly I want to meet my people out in the world–in their real every day places where they live and work and share their gifts. Drawing a few strangers with my “ashes to go” sign would be an added bonus. Then last night, I got word of the sudden death of one of my church members. In my line... Read more
Monday morning quarterbacks–this is your day to shine! Have fun cornering your colleagues at the coffee pot and regaling them with all the uniquely insightful commentary that your friends and neighbors enjoyed last night during the game. Some of the rest of us will be Monday-quarterbacking the commercials. Which, on the whole, were pretty disappointing. Those singing sheep though… If I hadn’t just bought a Honda like, 2 months ago, I might well be on my way to a dealership... Read more
I once had a teacher who suffered from severe mysophobia (fear of germs) to the point that it significantly interfered with her life. Her husband taught in the next classroom over, so every morning he would open all her doors, turn on all her computers/projectors, etc, and set her up for the day. She rarely stepped out from behind her desk, and as far as I can tell, never ventured to the bathroom or the cafeteria. We all thought she was... Read more
I found myself beginning morning prayer today with a sincere “Dear God… please do not let Donald Trump be president.” Even though I know prayer does not especially work like a Sear’s catalogue, nor do I think God exactly controls the outcome of such things… I reckon I was just flinging a desperate hope to the universe and awaiting some return signal that these are not, in fact, the end times. Because that Jerry Falwell, Jr. business last week? Where Rev. Falwell compared... Read more
It must be something in the water, they say… When a common trend takes hold of a community. Like a bunch of women in the same church get pregnant at the same time; or an extended family has a big wave of weddings in one summer; or a bunch of houses in the neighborhood go on the market at the same time. Or when all the kids in a single town suddenly turn up with lead poisoning. Except in the instance of a small... Read more
This story about Donald Trump speaking at Liberty University is so full of gross things, I don’t know which gross thing to discuss first. Wait. Yes I do. Let’s start with “two Corinthians.” If you’re reading this without context, you might be thinking… Two Corinthians what? Two Corinthians walked into a bar? Or, “Two Corinthians: The long-awaited sequel to the epic saga, Corinth One–coming soon to a theater near you!” But no. In his speech to the broadly Christian student body,... Read more
Irreverin
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