Don’t worry. I will not attempt to talk sports. I’m just here for the commercials. I love them/hate them/love to hate them. Ministry is 70% marketing work anyway, but IF IT WEREN’T, I would say I missed my calling. In another life, I would be Don Draper. (Or Peggy. Or Megan! But I’m pretty sure they’re going to kill her off, so…) Speaking of killing people off… WTF, Nationwide?? I thought you were on my side? That commercial was not... Read more
Listen, I don’t have a wildly inspiring story about the time I met Marcus Borg, or how one of his books saved me, precisely, from abandoning the church altogether. I did hear him speak once. From the FRONT ROW. And he was gracious, and engaging, and challenging, and yes, inspiring. But I never met him in person. The internet will be full of those stories today—testimony from those who knew him well, or met him briefly at a critical time... Read more
I triple dog dare somebody to go and try the new ‘vegetarian slider’ at White Castle. I’m not saying it will definitely kill you… Just that you might want to hug your loved ones extra tight before setting out on your culinary adventure. I’m thinking ‘plant-like substance’ is probably a more apt description for this new sandwich. Just as ‘meat-like substance’ would probably be a better moniker for the original. Sometimes, a thing just is what it is. You can... Read more
Guest Post by Brandon Gilvin When I woke up this morning, I expected to write about writing. I’d just completed a three month experiment with my own blog—committing to write a story (fiction, memoir, poem, or something) every day over that time period. I expected to reflect a little bit about the discipline of writing daily, the power of storytelling in our lives, and how creating (a story, a painting, a meal) is a spiritual practice. But then I checked... Read more
If I had to pick a word-of-the-year, it would be “privilege.” You either know why or you don’t. And if you don’t, I couldn’t sum it up in a couple of quippy bloggy paragraphs. Truth is, the real defining story of 2014 is the emerging divide between those who talk about/are aware of privilege, and those who say “what are you talking about? We all live in the same world.” Privilege is not just about race. Sometimes it is about... Read more
A communion meditation for Christmas Eve… Every good Christmas story has a villain. An Ebeneezer Scrooge. A Grinch. A Mr. Potter. What about an inn keeper? In my memories of childhood Christmas pageants, you DEFINITELY wanted to be an angel. You MIGHT want to be Mary or Joseph—depending on who was playing opposite you. It was totally ok to be a shepherd or a wise man. But the inn keeper? Nobody wanted to be the inn keeper. That guy was... Read more
For clergy with small children, it’s kind of a sick joke: your longest work day of the year falls on the night before your children’s earliest morning. You can see it unfolding, but you’re powerless to stop it. You’ll get home around 12:30 or 1am, too jacked up on caffeine and adrenaline to sleep. So you’ll wind down by eating the cookies the kids left for Santa (because, hey, keep the magic alive!) and watching part of the 24-hour A... Read more
Last week, I wrote about those holiday songs that set our teeth on edge/cause ear bleeding, etc. I got some resounding ‘amens’ about most of the list; a few “but you left out!”s, and a handful of “what?? I love Josh Groban!” kinds of things. But all in all, the feedback confirmed what we already knew–Christmas music, for better or worse, is really important to us. We have attachments and associations, some of which we don’t even understand. And the... Read more
At Saint Andrew, we create space during Advent for those who might be dealing with grief, illness, family changes…or who otherwise struggle to be all jolly-sparkly and merry. (Which something tells us that we are ‘supposed to be’ this time of year). This is my prayer for tonight’s Service of Remembrance. Feel free to share with those who might need a different kind of Christmas greeting this year. God of the changing light Be with us in shadow seasons; when love has changed... Read more
On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me…Some grating, tedious songs that get stuck in your brain like a tiny piece of caramel corn in your teeth; like flecks of glitter that you’ll NEVER get out of the carpet; like a tiresome metaphor that some blogger just can’t let go… Anyway. My grandmother hated “The 12 Days of Christmas.” She was a gentle soul. She loved most people and never wanted much excitement in her life... Read more
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