Towson, MD
December 13, 2020
Isaiah and Mary both encounter the rebirth of the Grace of God in their times. Their words arise in the midst of the Babylonian Exile for Isaiah, and the Roman occupation of ancient Palestine for Mary. The Spirit of the living God is poured out on both of them, with similar promises of God’s […]
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December 6, 2020
No one in the Emergency Room knew quite what to do with me as a Chaplain. It was my final Semester of Seminary, and three days a week I’d ride the train from Princeton to Penn Station, take the subway up to Columbus Circle, and walk into Roosevelt-St. Luke Hospital’s ER. I loved working with […]
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November 22, 2020
This season of Harvest for millennia has been a time of making offerings. When the grain silo is brimming, as the canned vegetables and preserves are put up in the root cellar, mixed in with the incense of bonfires rise the prayers of thanks for the harvest, and the offering of food to others, while […]
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November 8, 2020
I don’t think the five wise bride’s maids got ready all on their own. I doubt that they independently have the same thought of bringing extra oil to keep their lamps trimmed and burning. Reading this text this week, I wondered if, In Jesus’ parable, there was only one or two who realized it was […]
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November 1, 2020
Tables are holy places. I learned from my mother how the beauty of a well laid out table could make any meal feel special. Candles, flowers, polished silver, a pitcher of water, the condensation on water goblets. There’s nothing quite like a crowded table, full of laughter, and tears, and life. I can think of […]
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October 25, 2020
These past few weeks, I’ve found myself unexpectedly encountering hope. It seems odd given the state of our world, and the grief that has been laid so heavily on our congregation. But I’ve felt the roots of hope strengthening, awaiting to bloom. After months of taking it a day at a time, I’ve found myself […]
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October 11, 2020
This is the time of year when I feel most deeply myself. I’m not sure what it is about Autumn, but come October, I experience something of a homecoming to myself. As the days grow shorter, I have moments of giving myself grace to be who I truly am, of taking stock. Maybe it has […]
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September 27, 2020
The past few weeks I’ve been re-reading “The Wounded Healer” by Henri Nouwen. It was the first work on pastoral care I read, given to me by my mentor, Pastor Ken. I was a young college student and was just starting to find myself drawn into situations of caring for others. I didn’t […]
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September 20, 2020
In our home, there are a lot of small portions of food. It’s not that Eric and I are miserly with our meals. Somewhere along the way of growing up, I picked up a behavior that one of my friends called “taking a Presbyterian serving.” Not wanting to eat the last of a casserole, […]
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September 13, 2020
In the midst of the continuing pandemic, while fires in my home state of Oregon threaten evacuations for my family, and concerns about contested election results in November, I’ve spent this week thinking about chariots in the ancient world. It’s not that your pastor has finally lost it, having spent too many hours among my […]
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