Sermon: I Wanna Be Reaching Out

"I Wanna Be Reaching Out" (November 13, 2016) Poet, singer, and songwriter Leonard Cohen reminds us: "there is a crack in everything; that's how the light comes in." We see in our community, our nation, and our world many places of brokenness, many cracks and many places in need of love and light. May we…

A Prayer for November 9

At our Bible Study last week, I was challenged to write a prayer for after the election. This is what I came up with. What would you pray? Prayer for November 9 Hope of every tomorrow, Healer of shattered dreams and fragmented peoples, boundless Lover of all the unknowns, the undecideds, the too-close-for-comfort and too-close-to-call,…

A Letter to NH Governor Hassan

On Monday, Governor Maggie Hassan (NH), issued this statement through her communications director: “The Governor believes that the federal government should halt acceptance of refugees from Syria until intelligence and defense officials can assure that the process for vetting all refugees, including those from Syria, is as strong as possible to ensure the safety of…

Broken Circles, Shattered Hope

Every time someone sidesteps or over-steps the marginalized, every time someone stifles holy conversation or the ministry of lay persons, every time someone uses the order given us not to guide and protect but to circumvent and then consolidate power and privilege, every time someone allows prayer or a call to follow Jesus to be hurtful rather than to build up the body, I will be there-- objecting, amending, opining, and advocating. Every. Time.

Reflecting on the Social Principles Consultation

A couple of weeks ago, I traveled to Washington, D.C. to the offices of the General Board of Church and Society of The United Methodist Church. There I participated in a Consultation on the Social Principles, one of eight planned meetings "to consider a process about how to make the United Methodist Social Principles more succinct,…

An Invitation from the New England Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church

Here is the full text of the motion I made, as amended and adopted by the 2014 session of the New England Annual Conference: An Invitation The New England Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church strives to be an inclusive conference that celebrates, develops, and affirms God-given gifts for lay and ordained ministry. We…

What’s Next?

One of my favorite parts of the tv show "The West Wing" that seems realistic to me is the refrain "what's next?" Used to change the subject, to close a conversation, to carry on with work, to recommit to tasks at hand, these two words return again and again in the script as the characters…

Let the penalty fix the “crime”

Here we go again... A month after the Board of Ordained Ministry in Pennsylvania stripped Rev. Frank Schaefer of his ordination credentials for officiating at his son's wedding and refusing to state he would follow the entirety of the Book of Discipline in the future, the United Methodist Church is back at it again. The…

The courage of couples

Tim Schaefer takes the stand today. Tim's father, Rev. Frank Schaefer, was found guilty yesterday in a United Methodist Church trial for officiating at Tim's wedding to his similarly-gendered partner six years ago. An inactive member of Schaefer's church, angry because his mother and Schaefer had a disagreement which led to her being fired from…

Sermon Manuscript: On the Other Side

"On the Other Side" rough manuscript, by Rev. Becca Girrell Clark - 7/21/13 A child was walking along the road from the convenience store to the suburb, when he was set upon by a man who wanted to be a hero. The man stalked him, engaged him-- we do not know for sure how the…