Confession and Compassion

Hopefully not too much navel-gazing. Maybe it's the election, or the extraordinary ordination or talking with folks struggling to find or afford housing, but I've been thinking a lot about privilege lately. With the exception of the fact that I'm a woman, I am a member of every privileged majority group I can think of:…

Living Tomorrow Today

(An Extraordinary Ordination, from Church Within a Church) There are times when you fight for all you're worth to make change happen. There are times when you bang your head against the wall until it hurts. There are times when you nurse your wounds and pray for strength to pick up the struggle another day.…

In the News

This past week, I had an article published in The Bridge, Montpelier's independent newspaper. That article was an edited version of two of my earlier posts about houselessness/homelessness (found here and here). Since that time, I've had several folks contact me about doing more together to find sustainable solutions to the housing shortage in our…

Grieving Well

I deal a lot in the business of death and, more importantly, its aftermath, and the ability to hopefully mourn well. We do ourselves and our loved ones a great service when we are able to honor and say goodbye to them, and process the pain and the loss in our lives at the same…

Sermon: Don’t Panic!

"Don't Panic!" ( October 12, 2008 ) News headlines-- and the pressures of our own lives-- give us plenty to worry about, and from places of fear we can either be foolishly reactive or closed-down and inactive. Fortunately, we worship a God who tells us not to live out of fear, and gives us words…

Sermon: How Firm a Foundation?

"How Firm a Foundation?" ( October 5, 2008 ) On World Communion Sunday, we reflect on our common foundation as Christians. Is this foundation firm enough to help us overcome our segregation and live into the vision of God's kin-dom? (Matthew 21:33-46) [okay, so take two is not much better in terms of quality. I…

Bursting with pride

Very proud of my courageous and loving friend, Annie.

Assurance

I'm running behind, feeling stressed, and uninspired. That means that this morning, more than ever, I needed to spend time sitting in front of my altar listening for the Holy. While this practice of mine draws some raised eyebrows from some of my friends outside the church or from less contemplative circles, I find it…