Monday, July 20, 2020 | Reflections
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Amelia Jenks Bloomer, Sojourner Truth, and Harriet Ross Tubman: Each of these remarkable women exemplify love of neighbor. Elizabeth Cady Stanton called on the church to stop using scripture to justify the oppression of women....
Sunday, July 19, 2020 | Reflections
You are expecting what has been promised—and one day, you will be on your feet cheering and kissing all the babies and giving all the high fives; the fireworks and confetti and balloons and champagne will flutter and fizz. This is hope. Even if it looks...
Saturday, July 18, 2020 | Reflections
In today’s readings, the children of Israel are on the cusp of entering the Promised Land, the place they have been heading toward for forty long years. The psalms compare physical thirst and hunger to longing for God’s grace and mercy, leaning into God’s promises...
Friday, July 17, 2020 | Reflections
Jesus teaches us that compassion begets compassion. I'm not sure what sparked a shift within me, but I clearly remember standing in a checkout line in Target and making a choice to be really kind to a very clearly distracted cashier. This prompted a...
Thursday, July 16, 2020 | Reflections
From the Archives: August 6, 1945“Inasmuch as ye did it…ye did it unto me.” Man judges the outside and can be deceived. God searches the heart. Man’s pardon can be bought and sometimes must be bought. God gave his son…..(View this reading and more resources for...
Wednesday, July 15, 2020 | Reflections
If I say I love and follow Jesus, that love will be expressed in my actions and attitudes toward others, in relationship with others. With heart and mind and body, Jesus comes to us. He prays, worships, notices, cares, touches, cries, eats, drinks, and laughs up close...
Tuesday, July 14, 2020 | Reflections
Born in the late 1490’s, the little girl Argula von Grumbach wasn’t supposed to read the Bible or be educated in any real sense. Her father disagreed with this societal norm, making sure she voraciously read and memorized the Bible. I imagine she read about Rahab...
Monday, July 13, 2020 | Reflections
The women of the Bible are commendable examples of faith and courage, and none of them present simple stories. Their stories, Rahab’s among them, are testaments to what we can be when we are at our best—merciful, compassionate, and graceful under pressure....
Sunday, July 12, 2020 | Reflections
Discernment—holy listening—is a faithful practice that requires vulnerability, reliance on others, and the Holy Spirit. I have found that immersing myself in creative activities quiets the anxiety of waiting and opens my ears to hear. Singing, cooking, ….(View...
Saturday, July 11, 2020 | Reflections
Benedict’s response to a world out of order was to develop a rule of life—or pattern for living—that called for refuge in scripture, prayer, work, and rest. I have never quite understood monastic life that requires one to retreat from the world, but I ….(View...
