As I was getting a cup of coffee before heading to teach a youth Sunday School class to follow up the work we had experienced together at ministrieslab on Sunday morning, the woman who took my order asked me, “Are you headed to the hospital?” “No, actually heading to teach a youth Sunday School class. […]
You Don’t Look Like a Minister Read More »
Yesterday at ministrieslab, we popped up at Transitions homeless shelter. It would be easy to think if you have been following the journey of ministrieslab that we have created a predictable time and space to worship. And we have. It would be easy to think we have developed a community of faith with regular participants.
On Pastoring a Transient Congregation Read More »
If somehow in the midst of your journey to answer a call to ministry, you’ve thought that ministry is a stable, secure profession, it’s not. Ministry disrupts your life and your plans. Ministry puts you in the middle of shootings, in the middle of assembling bleach kits for a needle exchange program, and in the
Ministry is Disruption Read More »
Ministry is hard when you have to stand beside and pray on behalf of a mom who has lost her 7 and a half week old reminding her that she still has to take care of her postpartum body that hasn’t even healed yet. Ministry is hard in a political climate that is divisive,
When Ministry Is Hard Read More »
For eight weeks, Sam and I have been co-pastoring ministrieslab,a church popping up in the midst of need. This week, as we gathered for our weekly service at Transitions, I was struck by the overwhelming task of preaching on the Good Samaritan as a white woman in community of faith in which I am a
On Pastoring a Church in Which I Am the Minority Read More »
Last night, I stood on our back porch smelling the post-rain air. The air was particularly sweet because it had been threatening to rain for two days. The herb garden Sam got started for me for my birthday in April had been baking on the steps of our front porch ready to soak up the
As more and more people begin to arrive in Greensboro for CBF’s General Assembly, there is no question that the press release this morning with a call from Suzii Paynter to work towards unity was meant to set the stage for the conversation about CBF’s discriminatory hiring policy. It sounds a lot like we are following in the
A Fractured Reality Read More »
For those of us who are preparing and traveling to CBF General Assembly, there is a question that is on all of our minds, “What is the future for CBF?” This is the 25th Anniversary of CBF and while it is a time to catch up with people and celebrate, it is also a time
Yesterday, the alternate reading for the lectionary was Psalm 5:1-8: Psalm 5:1-8 5:1 Give ear to my words, O LORD; give heed to my sighing. 5:2 Listen to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you I pray. 5:3 O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice; in the
A Mass Shooting and Spiritual Abuse Read More »
Recently, I received yet another rejection from a pastor search committee. While I have become accustomed to these responses or no responses from submitting my resume to pastor search committees claiming to be supportive of women in ministry in my three years of ministry, there was something different about this one. In the short response,
Spiritual Abuse Keeps Women Out of Senior Pastorates Read More »
