I went to the library today expecting to fess up to the fact that I had turned in an overdue book because it was a new release, and I just wasn’t quite finished with it. I knew what I had done and even if I had forgotten the email notice addressed Merianna Louise Neely Harrelson …
I look at this picture from a year ago and wonder if I knew what I was getting into in accepting a call to pastor. I wonder if my family knew what they were getting into in supporting and encouraging me to pursue my call to minister. A year later, we are all looking at the …
As I sat around the table with other women in ministry sharing stories about pregnant ministry, I realized being in my first trimester during Lent and Holy Week weren’t nearly as tough as some of my colleagues. It was comforting to hear the stories and their dedication to their call to serve others even in …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 »
