As a parent now, I have come to understand the definition of love, joy, and motherhood very differently than I used to, which means when I think of celebrating Mother’s Day, I understand it as honoring more than just the act of having given birth. Mother’s Day is about the love of mothers and that … [Read more…]
I was going to preach on Abraham’s compassion and hospitality that he showed to the three visitors from God. But as I read this passage over and over again, I couldn’t help but come back to the miraculous ways in which God works in our world and in our lives. For the past couple of … [Read more…]
So there has been so many lessons that I have learned since social distancing began. One of the things that I have learned is that I do not like staring at myself as I preach and run worship. I find it very distracting. I have become very aware of my own sensitivities because of Zoom … [Read more…]
If you had to define a Christian to someone, what words would you use? (Invite congregation to help) When Bill and I first started dating, my father-in-law had a very specific idea of what a Christian was based on his experiences as a Jewish man. And I must say his views were not flattering. Yet … [Read more…]
In 2007 I did Field Education in a church in Braintree MA. It was a large old stone building with beautiful stained glass windows in the sanctuary. Each window depicted a different scene from the bible. The church was beautiful though did not make me think of a traditional New England Congregational Church when I … [Read more…]
We all make snap judgments all the time. We have to. Otherwise, it would take all day to make it from bed to work. The other morning my alarm went off and I had to make a judgment call to push snooze or get up and get ready for the day. Then there was the … [Read more…]
Now there may not be too many of us who have experienced adult baptism, or can even say that they remember their baptisms. My first baptism happened when I was 5 months old and recovering from chicken pox. I have no memory of my first baptism. My second baptism was done by the same clergy … [Read more…]
I listened to a whole podcast on Monday all about the history of Veteran’s Day and its link to Armistice Day which preceded it. In the podcast, it spoke about the need to do more than to just honor our veterans once a year and how for many veterans they would much prefer that we … [Read more…]
If you want to encounter God, the essence of what is Holy, you don’t have to go searching in the depths of spiritual places. You only have to look at other people. We are constantly told in the scriptures that God is in the people that we meet, the people that we help, and the … [Read more…]
Have you ever noticed that when you help someone it just completely changes your day? Right before I left the preschool my teacher’s assistant at the time was someone who didn’t drive and the city bus stop was a mile away. I decided that I would give her a ride to her house at the … [Read more…]
