I can understand why people don’t like the Lenten season. When I started attending a church where the Lenten season was observed, I wasn’t excited about my worship experiences during that time. Lent is dark and cold during a season of the year that’s dark and cold. The music is often ominous and dirge-like. Every …
Four years ago, I stepped into the pulpit at FBC Greenville to celebrate Martha Stearns Marshall Month of Preaching to preach my first sermon outside of the seminary classroom. It’s hard for me to believe that it’s been four years since people first called me preacher and proclaimer for the first time. This Sunday, I shared …
I sat in the pew preparing for the service: marking my hymns and making sure my phone was turned off. As the organ started, I stood with the rest of the congregation glancing ahead still nervous about the liturgical-style worship. The minister lead us in the Call to Worship, we sang another hymn, and sat …
I could feel the stare before I saw the eyes in the car next door leering at me. He gave a wide-mouthed grin and then a wink. Really? I thought to myself. He can’t even see me. If it wasn’t about looks, then what was the leering look about? And then it dawned on me. He …
As I got out of my car in the Walgreens, I heard the low whistle. I had already noticed the two men sitting in the van, but honestly I hadn’t thought twice about their attention. After being pregnant for nine months, I had forgotten what it was like to be whistled at and catcalled. I’m …
Gender Relations: Unsolicited Catcalls and Whistling Read More »
As I watch the countdown for the Iowa caucus and wonder whether this political season will bring us a female presidential candidate, I realize yet again that we are dealing with a systematic sexism in our country that continues to put up an undo number of white males as leaders while the women of country …
Being a minister is really hard. Being a minister during this transformational time in church history, is even harder. There is a temptation while looking at declining budgets, declining memberships, and uncertain futures to begin to compete with each other over potential members or to try to outdo each other with better buildings and programs. We …
The problem with answer this question is that the answer is decidedly different if your woman is a pastor and your woman is a man. A study reveals the shameful reality that women clergy are making 76 cents to every dollar their male counterparts make, which is worse than the national average. This is an especially disturbing reality …
From the back seat, I heard this conversation: MH: “LC, you’re my padawan, which means I’m the master, so you have to listen to me.” LC: “The thing is you always get to be the Master. I don’t want to play anymore.” It was a valid complaint on LC’s part. MH does like taking the …
I’ve been reading Yes Please by Amy Poehler and in one of her chapters, she describes how she feels about getting older. She explains that she does not feel middle-aged, but she knows she is approaching middle age. She reflects that although she is nearing middle age, she still feels like she has work to do. …
