The “Yes”es Have It

Last updated on: February 10, 2013 at 1:37 pm By Erin Wathen

I spent the weekend at a mountain camp/retreat center with other church leaders from around Arizona. If you’ve ever been to this sort of thing, you’ll know that it involved a lot of ‘sharing;’ a lot of coffee; some dancing, silliness and general hilarity; and group-building activities involving things like rope, pvc pipe, and blue plastic tarps. (yes, we have pictures). Which is to say that, in many ways, once you’ve been to some kind of leadership retreat, you’ve been to them all. However, this... Read more

Cold News

Last updated on: February 10, 2013 at 1:38 pm By Erin Wathen

The Phoenix area news last night was hilarious. Temperatures were to drop down in the THIRTIES overnight, and desert folk were losing their mind. I realize that if you are living through a Midwest winter, or a Plains-state winter–or pretty much any other winter that is actually winter–lows in the 30s with highs in the 50s for a week does not constitute a ‘cold snap,’ or a ‘frigid blast.’ But around here, it is the dang apocalypse. I watched neighbors... Read more

As Often As You Do This…

Last updated on: February 10, 2013 at 1:38 pm By Erin Wathen

we are winging it. Every one of us, even on our best days. Call me crazy, but isn't that half the fun? Read more

The Unapologetics

Last updated on: February 10, 2013 at 1:38 pm By Erin Wathen

Women who do what I do still have a battle to fight, and it is a chore that does not come with any other job description, that i'm aware of. We still have to defend our right to be here...However, I do have to check myself. Because my impulse in these situatons, almost always, is to defend. To articulate a brilliant biblical/theological argument that will justify my being here; not in my language, but in theirs. Or else, I find their shock and dismay so off-putting, that I must fight the urge to comfort them. Like, "there, there, it's ok. We'll find you a church where only the boys talk, where Jesus is white, and where the prayer chain works like the Sear's catalog. Let me give you a phone number..." Read more

The Gospel of Grantham

Last updated on: February 10, 2013 at 1:39 pm By Erin Wathen

If you want to know what a nerd I am, I’m going to tell you. About 80% of the status updates in my newsfeed on Sunday were from friends engaged in a “Downt-down.” (I crack myself up). That is, a countdown to the season 3 premier of ‘Downton Abbey.’ The other 20% were something to the effect of, where is Downton Abbey, and why do I want to go there? I’m never quite sure what to tell people about it,... Read more

Failure to Adapt

Last updated on: February 10, 2013 at 1:39 pm By Erin Wathen

our mainline churches are dying from this 'failure to adapt' that we see in the garment world, and even within our own bodies. For so long, regardless of how the landscape changes, regardless of imminent shifts in the wind and weather, many of the congregations we know and love cling like death to the known world...and then wonder at the startling statistics that show how many people are leaving the church and never coming back. From the empowerment of women to the inclusion of LGBT folks; from the ways that we worship to the ways we invite people; from death-by-committee to death-by-over-programming--we often refuse to acknowledge that the stuff we have on our shelves bears no reflection on the climate beyond our walls. Read more

The Tenth Day of Christmas: Elf Hats, Broken Candles, and Leftover S’Mores

Last updated on: February 10, 2013 at 1:40 pm By Erin Wathen

And so it comes to pass that, in the days following the birth of our Lord and Savior, the men and women of God face the new year, not with a fount of scriptural wisdom to pour forth from the pulpit, but holding an empty garbage bag and wondering how a season so blessed and joyful can produce such an epic lot of mess. Read more

Go and See

Last updated on: February 10, 2013 at 1:41 pm By Erin Wathen

God comes wherever we are: even if we've failed to pray the right prayer; even if our gift list and baking duties are unfinished; even if social media got the better of us, and we spent the season in a bitter sniping match over politics, religion, or some unholy combination thereof; even if we are not quite ready, and not quite worthy of the 'nice' list; a child is born to us. Read more

Filled with Good Things

Last updated on: February 10, 2013 at 8:46 am By Erin Wathen

Rev. Brandon Gilvin is the Associate Director of Week of Compassion, and he is also a dang good writer. A native Kentuckian, he now lives in Kansas City with his wife, Lisa. I recently returned from a two week trip to India, where I visited two very different states, Bihar and Meghalaya, to learn about some of the work supported through a partnership between Week of Compassion, Foods Resource Bank , and several other ecumenical partners from the FRB network. From... Read more

Daring to Wait

Last updated on: February 12, 2013 at 7:58 am By Erin Wathen

Cheryl Carmichael is the author of Dare to Care: Caring for Our Elders. She began her career in aging with the Area Agency on Aging, in Phoenix, Arizona. Cheryl earned an AAS in Gerontology in 2002. She worships and serves at Foothills Christian Church in Phoenix. Cheryl’s father, Bill, is in the middle stages of Alzheimer’s Disease. What are you waiting for? After my parents’ divorce, I was raised by my mother. I was 14, and she harbored much anger towards... Read more