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The guy in the line at the grocery store
I went to the grocery store during lunch today to pick up a few things: fresh local strawberries for the kid, snacks for the theology pub coming over tonight, and a skirt, because it was on sale and...
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A prayer for such a time as this
Holy God, We are appalled – but not enough. We are grieved – but not enough. We are fed up – but not enough. Our hearts are breaking for the loss of those nine beautiful lives, nine of Your faithful...
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Collard Greens Scones
My family moved to Portland, Oregon, four years ago when my husband and I accepted a call to serve as co-pastors. The church we serve is in an area of Portland that has been undergoing gentrification...
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“May I come speak with you about a religious matter?”
I was expecting a call like this, on a Monday after the Supreme Court’s decision about marriage. Our office manager buzzed me. “There’s someone on the phone who would like to speak with a pastor...
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“May I speak with you…”, part 2
Yesterday’s post about my visit from Joy was read by many, at least in terms of my stats. I appreciate the comments, likes, and shares. Today I received a message from a minister colleague in another...
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Clang, clang, clang…
“Went the trolley.” You knew that. I think my favorite role of Judy Garland’s was as Esther Smith in “Meet Me in St. Louis.” The Gibson-Girl look suited her well, and she was so young and vibrant and...
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On cousins
I recently spent a few days with some of my cousins on my mother’s side. Our families share land that is dear to all of us, and once a year we meet there to do some business and have a picnic and get...
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“I don’t want to grow up”
My child has no interest in being an adult, which makes me wonder what she hears her dad and me saying. Then it makes perfect sense. Debt. Black mold. Mortgage. Death. Weight. Loans. Responsibility....
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Skipping church
It’s Sunday morning and I am home and we’re not going to church today. We are on vacation, enjoying one of our six Sundays a year not in church, but I’m feeling a little naughty and a little guilty...
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Heart’s Desire
For months, at the urging of my spiritual director, I have been praying to find my heart’s desire, to find that thing (not a person – I have those) that inspires me, energizes me; my flow. But you...
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Jury Duty: A Tale of Stupidity and Greed
Quotation on the exterior of the Mark O. Hatfield Federal Building in PortlandI thought – when asked if I should be called “Reverend” were I to be selected to serve as a juror and I responded, “‘Ms.’...
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The Terrible Beauty
Halloween is over, thank God. I am so over that holiday. This year we carved exactly one pumpkin, and I let the real spiders decorate inside and out. Actually, Halloween was over for me after fifth...
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Prince of Pieces
If I let myself, I could be sad all the time. Not depressed, mind you, but sad, because there is so much to be sad about. I am sad about ignorance, equating ISIS with Syrian refugees and governors...
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Human
What would it mean if we saw every person as human? Centuries ago, St. Benedict proposed that his monks see all visitors as Christ: Let all guests who arrive be received like Christ, for He is going to...
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In search of courageous leaders
One of the things I appreciate about the Presbyterian church is our form of government. It’s representative – the congregation elects elders to make decisions about the ministry and mission of the...
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Sighing at the Angel Tree
So our congregation has, for many years, had a Christmastime Angel Tree, in which members purchase requested gifts for families in our local Head Start program. Do not get me wrong: this is great....
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Christmas Eve at the cemetery
It was such a brief scene as I drove by: a man pulled over on the side of the road, standing on a hillside that was dotted with in-ground gravestones, standing in front of one that was decorated with...
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The forgiveness racket
My child has figured out that there’s no winning in forgiveness. I was hoping we could have put that off a little longer, like the Santa Claus and birds-and-bees talks, but no. It turns out that...
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Liturgy-Time Continuum
I know how it’s supposed to go: you save the palms from Palm Sunday, maybe stick a few in the Easter bouquet, and then store them for a good ten months until burning them for the next year’s Ash...
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Trump as Lenten Discipline
In my Ash Wednesday meditation, I admitted that I wasn’t all that good at spiritual discipline, or even following through on a particular Lenten practice, but my hope this Lent was to do two things: to...
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