Obituaries

Such silly things, like you can describe a whole person in a few paragraphs. The one in the paper/on the funeral home site isn't bad, even if I do think that referring to my mom as Jon's "long-time companion" makes her sound like either a live-in nurse or a canine. Is partner really so hard to…

Sermon: Make Room! (Christmas 2008)

"Make Room!" ( December 24, 2008 ) Clearing room, preparing for someone to have space in your life, takes intentionality and effort, especially when the one for whom we prepare is Jesus, the presence of God among us. (Luke 2:1-20)

In the midst of life, we are in death

Please excuse the interruption from the planned reflections on Christmas Eve and sharing of Christmas cheer. The death, yesterday morning, of my mother's partner of 19 years, Jon, has thrown our family into a bit of chaos. We knew this would happen someday, and I spent every day of the last year I lived in…

Feedback wanted

Hi folks, when you have a few free minutes (this week? ha!), could you do me a favor and check out my 'Virtual Worship' link on Trinity UMC's website? For the second week in a row, we had little or no heat in the sanctuary, and this week there was a severe weather warning, so…

Sermon: Clear a Space

"Clear a Space" ( December 21, 2008 )  Despite what might be less than good news to an unwed teenage girl, Mary says an active 'yes' to the message Gabriel brings her. We too have the invitation to create a space for Christ in our hearts, our homes, and our lives as we say yes…

Unwinding, kid style

Normally, the week before/of Christmas, I buy myself an hour with a spa in town and get a deep-tissue massage. It makes me a much better pastor on Christmas Eve, and a much better wife/mom/daughter/sister/friend on the days after Christmas. This year, due to being new in town and not having scoped out the spas…

Differentiated Sermons

In a comment exchange about Sunday's service, my sister and I discussed: Ru: wow, what a great and powerful exercise. i love the ways that you make going to church an active thing. it’s not just a plunk-me-down-in-a-seat-and-listen thing, it becomes an exercise that you have to choose to take part in. fantastic! And I…

Preaching from the gut.

Sunday's sermon was a difficult one to write and a difficult one to preach in a difficult service to lead. I was in my own pain, my own sadness this past weekend. A personal thing, a small one. Very small, in fact, nearly invisible. Nothing that can't be healed by a day's worth of tears…

Sermon: Clear Your Heart

"Clear Your Heart" ( December 14, 2008 ) Advent is a time for preparing for the good news, but sometimes our hearts are so filled with pain and anger that we cannot receive joy. The good news is that God not only offers us blessing, but God is also one to whom we can lament…

Pastors and Sexual Advice

I tried to go without commenting on this, but found that I couldn't resist. And yes, that means I run the risk of doing the very thing I'm advising against. Generally, I think it's not a good idea for pastors to get involved in giving sexual advice, certainly not to large crowds at a time.…