Pastors only work on Sundays, right?

Today was one of those days. One of those wonderful, glorious days when it may have looked like I did very little to edit a church bulletin or craft a brilliant sermon, but the church and the people of God were foremost on my mind. I began the day with a meeting in Barre (next…

Local Press, and Pressing Issues

I recently attended a meeting in Montpelier that gained some local press attention. A group of team and agency members, local residents, and interested activists gathered to talk about the problem of lack of affordable housing in the Montpelier area, and the large and growing number of persons who are without housing, are marginally housed,…

Things that don’t help

For the record, when it comes to massive disasters, it does not help to blame the victims or to insist that this so-called "act of God" (why in the world would we call disasters that?!?) is somehow justified. I'm disgusted by and feel sorry for individuals whose understandings of God are so limited that they…

Prayers and Relief for Haiti

In the wake of the devastating earthquake in Haiti, I'm reminded yet again that natural disasters, while no respecter of persons, fall disproportionally upon the poor. Part of the reason that the quake's effects were so horrifying was that the buildings were already so poorly put together. Unstable structures, even hospitals, schools, and prisons, unable…

Sermon: Tidings for the Downtrodden

"Tidings for the Downtrodden" (December 20, 2009) On Christmas we don't celebrate only how Jesus was born, but who he was and is, and for that we can get no better source than his own mother. In the passage known as the Magnificat, Mary describe what Jesus means to her, an unwed peasant girl: salvation,…

That Old Time Religion Ain’t Conservative Enough

So my friends lists on Facebook, and on my blogroll, and even on my television (good Lord, do I love Rachel Maddow) are all talking about the same thing this week. The Conservative Bible Project. Like Rachel Maddow, like many of my friends when we first emailed this around, I was convinced this had to…

I have, like, the best job ever.

I really do enjoy my job. It amazes me sometimes. Sure, it's difficult, and draining and chellenging some days. Sure, there are times when it seems like many of my days are filled with finding (and losing) paperwork, looking for prayers to go with a particular theme, and attending marathon meetings. But around that stuff,…

Day Off

Mondays are my sabbath days, but that doesn't necessarily mean a day of rest. Sometimes, what really rejuvenates me is getting to do projects I love or to dream about ministry (and maybe even do a little of it, which I don't consider cheating) without being 'on the clock.' So for example, today, on my…

Of Tea and Taxes

We interrupt this church-themed blog for a post regarding the most state-ish of all matters: taxation. I've heard a lot the past couple of days about wealthy people who think that they are being taxed without being represented. Apparently, the fact that the wealthiest 10% of the population are represented by less than a majority…

What I’d have said

I was invited to speak at the dinner tonight at my church for the Central Vermont Community Land Trust. Unfortunately, I have had a minor medical problem (some follow-up stuff from my miscarriage that necessitated a trip to the hospital, but I'm out and home and fine now) and have been confined to my house…