Merianna Harrelson

I am the Pastor of Garden of Grace United Church of Christ in Columbia, SC and the Director of Consulting at Harrelson.Co. I am always looking for a good cup of coffee and a great book.

Is This Right?

One of the question I get asked a lot from our six-year-old and three-year-old is, “Is this right? They are both at ages and stages where they are learning so much so quickly. They are acquiring new skills, gaining new experiences almost faster than I can keep up and they want to know that the …

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There’s Something Brewing

There’s something brewing below the surface. The clap of thunder the flash of lightning blinding most people, so they can’t see, the undercurrent pulling them dragging them away. There’s something taking root underground. The yellow coating of pollen the wind whipping around redirecting most people so they can’t hear the new life grounding. There’s something …

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When Lent is Long

It’s about this time in the Lenten season that we get weary. We are tired of the reminders of that we are dust and to dust we will return. We are tired of the darkness. We are tired of confessions. It’s about this time in the Lenten journey that we want to skip ahead to …

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When Light Breaks Through

When light breaks through and the sky lights up, the possibilities begin. When light breaks through, there is an invitation to begin anew. When light breaks through, sorrow and despair fade into hope. When light breaks through, the shadows of uncertainty flee making way for resurrection.

Whisperings

I heard their whisperings at the top of the stairs. We had just cleaned up from dinner and were headed to bath, just enough ahead of me to plot something. I stopped for just a minute to give them ample time to plan their surprise. I made sure my feet fell loudly on the last …

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I’m On My Way

After my second year of teaching, I went to Germany for one school year to teach. As a young American in a small town, I found myself most often on the same schedule of retirees. We would eat our kuchen and kaffee at the same time in the afternoon and then go see a lecture …

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Here Comes the Sun

Yesterday brought the Spring Equinox and the reminder that the light is coming. At a time and place where there is so much violence, the equinox is an invitation to find the glimmers of hope in the new life that is beginning to bloom. In our modern society, we don’t live as in tune with …

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March Again

It’s March again. The month everything changed. When our lives, our livelihoods, were interrupted, disrupted. It’s March again I wonder if we’ll make it through see it through. It’s March again Did we learn? Did we grow? Did we see? Or will it take another pause another stop until we see.

Carrying On

I can remember the summer afternoons spent with cousins laughing and playing and sometimes fussing at each other. When the noise would get to a certain level, my grandmother would make her appearance and ask, “What are you all carrying on about?” She meant why were we fussing with each other, but I like the …

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