It's not that we don't care, God. Of course we care about people in Morrocco What kind of monsters would we be to not be horrified that the death toll from the earthquake is almost up to 3000 people. 3000! On this day when we commemorate the largest loss of life on American soil, our siblings in Morocco--a country far smaller than ours--is about to eclipse that record. Of course we ...
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Note: I've been writing a version of this prayer for several years now. Here is the 2023 version. Maker of all things, We pray for those who are overworked and overwrought. For those who are overwhelmed and just plain over it. For those who feel like there are not enough hours in the day and for those who fill their hours with that which does not feel like enough. For those who have lost ...
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(as Idalia makes landfall) Creating God, It’s hard when Your good creation is trying to kill us. It’s hard to reconcile a loving creator with a creation that can, at times, be devastatingly beautiful and then be just plain devastating. We know we are complicit We know we haven’t cared for Your Earth the way You told us to But, to be fair, these natural born killers existed way before any coal engines or smoke stacks ...
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There are far too many Pinterest and Instagram stories out there from people who get up at five in the morning, fix themselves a cup of coffee or a very specific kind of tea and then spend an hour with their Bible and notebook in prayer and study. So, that is fantastic...if it works for you. But most of us are NOT going to be able to pull that off in ...
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God of love and God of all, We enter into this election with more anxiety than hope about the future of our country. We are battling for the soul of America, but we have very different ideas of how that soul should look, feel and behave. We fear for the safety and peace of our nation, as many have already threatened violence if the results are not the ones they want. We ...
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We believe in children whose excitement and energy and creativity inspire us all to be more childlike in our lives and in our faith. We believe in teachers and in their call to nurture and educate amidst increasingly difficult circumstances. We believe in the grown-ups who wake up the kids, fix the lunches, volunteer at the schools and help with the homework. We believe in friends and co-workers and neighbors who step in ...
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We see you and we celebrate you We see the good you do We see the love you share We see the people you serve We hear the names people call you Names that we do not recognize or publicize, lest we legitimize For those names don’t define you We know you by one name: Beloved Child of God Created in God’s own image We don’t pretend to know your pain But when you hurt, we hurt, too We may not ...
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The church where my friend, Rev. Dr. Robert Lowry, serves has created a litany to be used in homes and churches and any place people may gather in the wake of yet another school shooting that has taken away so many lives. They have come up with words that so many of us are at a loss for and have graciously shared them. A Litany Against Gun Violence Composed Following the Robb ...
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Fitting prayer into a busy life can be hard. And it's not just finding time for prayer--it's having peaceful, quiet time to pray. Good news! You don't need quiet and solitude to pray. Okay, there are ways we can be more in tune with how God is speaking to us and more open with our own authentic prayers, but prayer time can be anytime. In fact, the noise and ...
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Jesus, Gentle Healer, our pain is piled on top of pain We've just about done all we can do. We've worn our masks. We got our vaccines. We've kept our distance. We've missed out on so much. We thought we were done. But it keeps coming back. Another cancelled trip. Another missed event. Another season of missed revenue. Another distance learning day. Another friend who is no longer with us. The pile of grief and pain and ...
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