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:…

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…

Airplane over the eastern United States (8/11, 8:07 p.m.)

( transcribed journal entry from 8/11, 8:07 p.m. ) Our flight out of Miami was delayed an hour and a half, so my hopes of driving home tonight and surprising Benji are pretty much dashed. I do want to say that this trip has been helpful in terms of perspective. First of all, I haven't…

Plane on route, Guayaquil to Miami (8/11, 10:53 a.m.)

( transcribed journal entry from 8/11/08, 10:53 a.m. ) I'm doing okay on the plane-- a few tears at take off, and I blew some kisses toward Guasmo Sur behind us. I'm even okay with the idea of not coming back for a couple of years. I think communication will be much improved between my…

Plane on tarmac, Guayaquil International Airport, Ecuador (8/11, 9:15 a.m.)

[the housing crisis nearing resolution, we return to the Ecuador journal posts] ( transcribed journal entry from 8/11/08, 9:15 a.m. ) Last night's program was pretty good. The drama the kids put on was much improved over last year (we could even hear them most of the time!)-- a cute story similar to Solomon's, where…

Sermon (transcript): Perchance to Dream

Yet again bummed that my sermon today wasn't recorded. This time I just flat-out forgot to put in a CD and so did my sound guy. For the record I also flat-out forgot to put on makeup (and, in case you were wondering, so did my sound guy). So I'll do my best from-memory reconstruction.…

Outside the Casa de Mera, Guayaquil, Ecuador (8/10, 6:25 p.m.)

( transcribed entry from 8/10/08, 6:25 p.m. ) After a pancake breakfast (which I cooked!) this morning, we had church service on the soccer field, the highlight of which was a beautiful solo of Amazing Grace, sung by North American teen K. I was also honored to be able to serve communion to about half…

Casa de Mera, Guayaquil, Ecuador (8/9, 11:15 p.m.)

( transcribed entry from 08/09/08, 11:15 p.m. ) Beach day was pretty fun-- the best day we've had. There was even some sun, a big improvement over last year. I waded a lot but didn't swim (it was still pretty cold). Treated my family to ice cream and boat rides and lunch, where once again…

Casa de Mera, Guayaquil, Ecuador (8/8, 11:44 p.m.)

( transcribed entry from 08/08/08, 11:44 p.m. ) Erica worked it out with my family so that they-- well really just Andres-- could go to the banquet last night. The women stayed home with the children, and others were too young to go. The food was great, and Andres gave his characteristic 'ooh' when he…

Casa de Mera, Guayaquil, Ecuador (8/7, 4:35 p.m.)

( transcribed journal entry from 08/07/08, 4:35 p.m. ) We went on a tour of some houses this morning to see some of what Adopta Una Familia and Mi Cometa have done over ten years. It is impressive, Just around the corner from here, there are roads with sidewalks, with proper sewage removal underneath. That's…