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.

Burning Low

Last year during Advent, I released my first book called Morning Light and what I discovered was when you send the light out, light returns to you. My favorite reminder of this was the candles I received. These candles have anchored this past year reminding me that when we open ourselves to finding the light, …

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Weighted Hope

As I walked into the sanctuary this morning, I realized I had accidentally left on the lights behind our stained glass windows. As I looked closer, I checked in our “hope” window. We’ve been watching that window because it’s started to teeter a bit. The weight of the biggest stain glass is showing the impact …

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On Being Hemmed In

Last week, I found myself moving slowly on 1-26, a familiar experience for me. Usually I can turn up the kids playlist or podcast and remind myself that this is a moment and invitation to slow down and look around. Last week, I wasn’t in the mood to slow down or look around. I just …

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October Skies

I know that the season is changing in South Carolina when the skies start to change. We head to school in the rising sun and the play outside until the sun begins to set. It may sound routine, but the colors in the October skies are anything but routine. They are stop-you-in-your-track kind of skies. …

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Running on Fumes

Early this week, I recounted running out of gas for the first time in my life. What I didn’t explain was that it’s not surprising it happened. I run on fumes quite often. I push past the lit-up E trying to tell me to stop and take time to refuel. I push my engine to …

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