Text: Deuteronomy 15:1-2, 7-11; Matthew 19: 16-22 Over the last week or two, my husband and I have watched the first season of Netflix’s immensely popular Korean drama, Squid Game. It isn’t a show I would recommend you run home and watch… it is incredibly and senselessly violent… but as I thought about our texts…
Wheat & Tares
the church in the world: mission, justice, good news
Weaving a new thread…
Every three years, I have to go to sexual misconduct/boundaries training. It is required for all clergy in my conference of the United Methodist Church. We hold a lot of power in our role over the lives of parishioners and breaking that sacred trust by misusing that power to exploit someone else is absolutely unacceptable.…
Growing up white… and not knowing it.
Over the past few months, I’ve been exploring together with small groups of clergy, friends, and members of my church the persistence of racism and the underpinnings of white supremacy in our culture. I’m realizing that it is so prevalent we can’t even recognize it most days. It is like the air we breathe. We…
Recognizing the Messiah
Text: Isaiah 49:1-7, John 1:29-42 It only takes a spark… As I’ve shared with you in the past, my extended family has often been to Hawaii together. My grandpa and grandma were fairly blessed in their life and made the decision long ago to spend their money bringing us together than leave money to be…
A Nap and a Snack
Text: Psalm 42 and 1 Kings 19:1-15a Blessed are the crazy. Blessed are those who experience feelings of anxiety and are consumed by worry. Blessed are those who have suicidal thoughts. Blessed are those who have survived trauma. Blessed are those are trapped in cycles of addiction. Blessed are the crazy. Blessed. That isn’t the…
Sing! Play! Summer! – The Old Rugged Cross
Text: 1 Corinthians 1:18-29 A young rabbi found a serious problem in his new congregation. During the Friday service, half the congregation stood for the prayers and half remained seated, and each side insisted that theirs was the true tradition. Nothing the rabbi said or did moved toward solving the impasse. Finally, in desperation, the…
YES! We Are Able!
Text: Deuteronomy 8:11-18 and Mark 10:23-31 Last week, Pastor Lee from Women at the Well shared with us part of the story of the rich, young, ruler in Mark’s gospel. This morning, we hear the second half of that story… the response of the disciples… our response… to the invitation Jesus offers this faithful follower.…
A Way Forward? 25-cent words
Texts: Philippians 4:8-9, Matthew 22:34-40 This past year as I taught confirmation, one of our lessons focused on how we are all theologians. I wrote that word up on the board and one of our students exclaimed – WOW! That’s a 25-cent word! There was an old idiom that you shouldn’t use a 50-cent word…