Collars, Leashes, and Lead Ropes
One of the very first things my spouse said to me on the day that we met was, “Your sense of call is going to make your life tough.” It has. It continues to do so. In February of 2018 I took my collar...
View ArticleChristmas in September
Here it is, September 24. The heat has tapered off, the colors are starting to turn, and pumpkin spice is everywhere. Yet, if you walk in your local craft store, that fact might elude you. I was...
View ArticlePastoring Faithfully in Divisive Times
The day after the 2016 presidential election, the seniors group at the church I serve was scheduled to gather. When I arrived, they told me that they’d agreed not to talk about the election. Emotions...
View ArticleHow the Enneagram Shows Up in Ministry: Perspectives from Nine Young Clergy...
How the Enneagram Shows Up in Ministry: Perspectives from Nine Young Clergy Women Compiled and edited by Alison VanBuskirk Philip If you spend much time in clergy circles, you’ve probably heard of the...
View ArticleA World Communion Story and Liturgy for Strange Times
A Story before the Meal Communion at Calvary United Methodist Church in Frederick, MD. I was not excited about my first in-person communion service during the pandemic. I felt like the virus was just...
View ArticleA Prayer for Essential Workers
“Thank you essential workers!” by spurekar is licensed under CC BY 2.0 Loving God, While some of us are in the safety of our homes, you have called others to risk themselves and their families to keep...
View ArticleYou Have to Put the Baby down Somewhere
“You have to put the baby down somewhere” A Sermon for Port Royal Baptist Church Christmas Morning 2016; Year A Luke 2; Titus 2:11-14 Hiking, working in the field all day, mowing the lawn, weeding the...
View ArticleVirtual Worship, One Year Later
My daughter preparing communion at home, while we watched together on the TV. March 1, 2020 was the last time my family attended worship in person. The congregation I pastor held in-person worship on...
View ArticleA Prayer of Thanksgiving for Zoom
This prayer marks the transition from online back to in-person worship. You are welcome to adapt to your context. A Prayer of Thanksgiving for Zoom Holy God, we give you thanks that we can worship you...
View ArticleSo You Want To Be An Ally: Showing Up Well for Pride
So, you want to be an ally? Wonderful! To start, let’s clear up a couple of things. First, ally is not a term we get to give ourselves. It is one given to us by communities to whom we are proximate,...
View ArticleEnough When
It is cold as my feet touch the bare wooden floor, and a shiver creeps up my spine. The protective cocoon of the bed where my love still lies, peaceful, calls. But no. I’ve started a new program, a...
View ArticleTwo Maundy Thursdays
Physical touch is not my love language – but Maundy Thursday is my favorite day of the liturgical calendar. I grew up in a denomination that did not place much value in high liturgical experiences...
View ArticleWhen Not Enough is Enough
It seems to me that the greatest lesson from God that we must strive to keep reminding ourselves of is that while we can’t do everything, we can do something. That is our call as Christians and...
View ArticleBlessed Are the Meal Makers
As my husband and I celebrate our daughter Jo (Josephine) coming into the world this week, I’m reminded and grateful for the ways love surrounds us and literally feeds and sustains us. This blessing...
View ArticleThe Receiving Line
My heart finally slowed down as the organist began the postlude. I had made it through another Sunday of trying to offer Good News in the midst of so much terrible news. As I processed out down the...
View ArticleOn Leaving a Call
My final Sunday at that church came as every other Sunday in my career has come: with a little anxiety and a rush of responsibilities. But this time, it felt as though more was at stake. I was...
View ArticleNo Christmas Without Her: Ruth’s Story
The stories from Jesus’ complicated family tree are a legacy of courage and faith, justice and peace, that shape how we understand our Savior in the manger of Bethlehem. Today, we remember that there...
View ArticleThe Heroine’s Journey, Part Five: The Heroine Awakens to Feelings of...
We have reached the halfway point in what will be a series of ten exploring the kinship between the Heroine’s Journey as established by Maureen Murdock, my lived experience of ministry as a female...
View ArticleReflections on Incarnation in this Season of Advent
The familiar faces of my parishioners occupy the screen before me as I sit on my zafu, a cushion Buddhists often use while doing a seated meditation called Zazen. I started this weekly meditation group...
View ArticleIrresolutions: New Year, New You?
The new year in American culture rings in the reminder of all the ways our culture wants to change us. Diets and special offers for gyms and workout programs flood our emails and social media feeds,...
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