I had a dream last night that a group of my college and high school friends gathered for a meal at a restaurant only to be surprised by two more college friends that we hadn’t seen in years. It was the kind of fun and fellowship and catching up that made us lose track of […]
Dreaming Around the Table Read More »
This post is the second in a series on conflict. Read the first On Ending Up in the Middle of Conflict. It took me a long time to realize I was the source of theological conflict for friends and family when I answered a call to preach. It took me as long to realize that this
On Being the Source of Conflict Read More »
The second Wednesday I was serving as Interim Pastor, I made the mistake of asking how many people at the church had had a woman pastor before. Only two raised their hands. Honestly, it surprised me because the congregation was so willing to accept and support a woman pastor. Suddenly, the responsibility of being their
My Pastor’s Pregnant Read More »
Last week was pretty momentous in my life as a woman, a minister, and a wife. On Wednesday, Sam and I found we were pregnant and expecting a baby in November. The next morning dawned my 30th birthday. My twentys were filled with school and searching (in America and in Germany) for who I was
On Being Thirty and Expecting Read More »
When I came to Emmanuel as the Interim Pastor, I didn’t know that this was a congregation who was breaking stereotypes and setting the stage for what it means to be an open and affirming congregation. What I did know was that they were brave enough to ask a non-ordained student to be their Interim
On Pastoring an Open and Affirming Congregation Read More »
The Spring of my student teaching, I was interviewing for my first job as a bona fide school teacher. I was terrified and excited and hopeful and nervous. I had chosen to ask for a student teacher placement in Spartanburg, over an hour drive from Furman, because I wanted to work in Spartanburg school districts
On Ending Up in the Middle of Conflict Read More »
Part of being a minister is to bear people’s burdens and to walk beside them as they walk through life. And that burden can be a lot to bear, especially if you consider the number of people that a minister ministers to, but there is something absolutely mysterious about being invited to be there for
On Being Asked to Be There for the Important Moments Read More »
We have now published 3 books in print and after agonizing after each and every detail of the formatting and book cover, it makes it hard for me to read other books. I notice things I didn’t notice before. (Is it just me or are all the copies of Ken Follett’s Edge of Eternity printed
Why It’s Hard for Me to Read Books Now Read More »
I did it. I actually renewed my books before any fines were incurred. This sounds simple, especially since the options for renewing your library books are endless: by phone, in person, online. Why I haven’t been able to do it effectively is beyond me, but it has gotten to the point that my husband won’t
My week this week has involved a couple of different hospital systems. Each time I find myself wandering aimlessly in the hospital halls, I inevitably run into hospital staff and doctors all of whom are extremely helpful. None of the people I encounter in the hospital doubt or question whether I am minister (although I
One of These Things Is Not Like the Other Read More »
