Church, meet State; State, Church

Nice to meet you, shake hands, and go your separate ways. That's the appropriate relationship between you. Any further fraternizing, and somebody's in danger of having a nasty and illicit affair. In the midst of the economic problems and the partisan and non-partisan struggles to fix them, what caught my attention this weekend were the…

Sermon: Broken Into Love (2)

"Broken Into Love" ( September 28, 2008 ) Drawing on my two years' experience with the Adopta Una Familia volunteer trip to Guayaquil, Ecuador, I ask, what does it mean to live out a Gospel that teaches blessing for the poor and woe for the rich? (Luke 6:20-31) [this is my first attempt at recording…

My Gray Hair

Lightening the discussion for a moment... For my new readers in Central Vermont (and afar!), I will repeat what I have said elsewhere, I do consider it part of my ministry to be so transparent in my humanness that people can’t help but think, "well if God can use *that*, then maybe God can use…

Its not homelessness, it’s houselessness.*

My husband commented in my previous post that my conversation marked a mere beginning in a chapter of my ministry, and he was right. My education about homelessness in Montpelier continued today, mostly in the form of a conversation over lunch with a wise man and fellow blogger, who has lots of insight into politics,…

Wake up Call

"Pastor, can I talk to you just a minute?" The fellow asking has a laugh-lined face and a voice gravelly from cigarette smoking. I stop mid-stride, and give him my full attention. He tells me that he's homeless, and that he sometimes sleeps on our handicap access ramp, because it's a gentle slope, and wood…

Circuit Rider: Fail.

Apparently, it takes some practice to get your head around serving two churches at once. Last week, I had to drive to church B and get an extra robe before I went to church A for the first service and then back to church B. That was nothing. This week, I forgot the bulletins for…

Walk a mile…

My car was in the shop this morning, getting the brakes repaired, and so I walked my daughter to school. That is, I carried her on my shoulders for a mile along the side of the road, and then walked a mile back to my house. Halfway back to my house, going up what I…

Seven years later

Then Peter came and said to him, "Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?" Jesus said to him, "Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times." May we know the spirit of forgiveness of ourselves and others, in the midst of…

(Stained) Glass Ceilings

Sarah Palin, eat your heart out; I'm shattering a glass ceiling or two on my own 'round here. My little congregation in Plainfield has had several women-- young women, even-- as pastors before, but at the larger church in Montpelier, I am the first woman and the youngest person to sit behind the pastor's desk.…

Well begun is half (hey I hope not!) done

My first worship services on Sunday went really well, especially considering how bewildered I felt for most of them! I actually think that having two churches will be an interesting challenge-- it was already cool to see how the same service elements (hymns, prayers, etc) play differently for different crowds, and how the same sermon…