In my post yesterday, I cited a statistic that 83% of girls report being sexually harassed in high school. That same article also reveals that 78% of boys report the same. Feeling that I am only qualified to speak from my own experience, I asked my friend Chris Furr to write a follow-up piece about what harassment might look like, from the male perspective. I know that his (and mine) are only two snapshots of a broad and complex social... Read more
I saw a statistic yesterday that said 83% of girls are sexually harassed in high school. My first thought was: is that all? I tell you what–100% of girls are sexually harassed in high school. Whether they know it or not, whether they talk about it or not. I’m pretty sure they teach a class on lewd behavior for freshmen boys. It is not a required elective, but there’s a lot of peer pressure to take it. It might seem extreme to... Read more
“Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.” —John 19:25-27 Friday is usually full of good things. Cook-outs and road trips; family game night or movie night; the beginning of Sabbath; baseball, yard work, and blessed downtime.... Read more
The insistence on a literal, physical, bodily resurrection is killing the conservative Church. The denial of a literal, physical, bodily resurrection is killing the progressive Church. Yeah, it’s a pickle. The Bible says Jesus died, rose again, and ascended to heaven. All tensions within the Body of Christ can be reduced to this one question: Did he or didn’t he? That may not be the only question that divides people of faith. But most bones of biblical and ideological contention... Read more
Lace up the trainers, zip up your robe. Eye of the tiger, baby. It is Holy Week, so prepare to stress eat and drink way too much coffee. Tell your family that you will see them next Monday. No wait—Monday, you hibernate. You will be down for breakfast on Tuesday. Or at least lunch…happy hour, for sure. You will need caffeine and adrenaline and the Holy Spirit to power through. And yet… we clergy types often wear fatigue as a... Read more
Palm Sunday–the gateway to Holy Week. Which is not only deeply sacred and important and full of all the meaning and all the feelings… but also the busiest week of the year for church folks. Dust the corners, print extra bulletins, shine the brass, eat your Wheaties, and for sure print extra bulletins. Gather early in the narthex and line up all the kids, and start the madness with a parade. We’ve been here before. Which is to say, I’ve... Read more
Wrote this a few weeks ago as a guest post for my friend Sarah, aka Bluegrass Redhead. Let’s play “I Never.” No, I’m not about to take us down memory lane to a junior high slumber party. I’m talking about examining those things we said we’d “NEVER” do when WE had kids… and then laughing out loud at how naïve/idealistic/very well-rested we were before we became parents. Ha ha. We were adorable. The church I used to serve shared space with a... Read more
No, it wasn’t an Onion article. You read that right. A cathedral in San Francisco—where most people pay more in monthly rent than the working poor make in a year—has installed overhead sprinkler devices in their alcoves. Not for fire safety. But to prevent the homeless from sleeping on their porch. And with no neighborly warning, either. Like, “Hey, guys, sorry, but we now water the porch every 30 minutes or so, because you’re dirty and gross; so if you... Read more
For Lent, I was going write about Lent. Well and often. And then, I found that I didn’t have much time to write. Which is ironic/telling/poetic–because my Lent sermon series is ABOUT time. How much we have, how much we waste; the blessing and burden of it; the things that hijack our sense of it… Time is complicated and beautiful and holds within its grasp the expanse of human experience and all of creation. We can totally cover that in... Read more
There was a “Kindness Assembly” at my daughter’s school today. One kid from each class was chosen to read an essay about something kind that they did, or a time when someone showed kindness to them. My 6-year-old was chosen from her class. She marched up to that mic like a pro and read her (4-sentence) story. While her friends waved like mad from the Kindergarten section. Don’t get me wrong—I was proud. It is no small thing to stand... Read more
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