I asked Pastor Darren Wright to sharing his baptismal journey: “A couple of years ago, I found myself sitting in a room across from the table from eight people, as they threw questions at me. I was going through commissioning to become an Elder in the United Methodist Church. It’s not intimidating at all. (congregational […]
Tag Archives: inclussion
The year after Mrs. Her-Name-Withheld read my best dyslexic sentences aloud to her class, my mother coaxed me into repeating the fourth grade at a new school. At Mary Queen of the Holy Rosary I found community, structure, love, and friends. I loved it! Sometimes we chanted like monks at lunch, “Would you trade your […]
I think someone gave me Anne Lamott’s “Traveling Mercies” years ago. Grace comes as a gift. I first read it 10,000 feet from the Earth, next to strangers, in the window seat. Around page 49, I found myself weeping. What makes a story resonate deeply? Anne Lamott defines grace as “the force that infuses our […]
Remembering the Jerusalem council, 45 C.E., the Apostle Paul shared, “We didn’t give in… for a single moment, so that the truth of the gospel would continue to be with you (the uncircumcised).” (Galatians 1-2) The Acts of the Apostles, along with Paul’s letters, tells how the church set aside its received traditions to embrace […]
No matter what our lesser rules or rulings might say, our United Methodist constitution declares: “The United Methodist Church acknowledges that all persons are of sacred worth. All persons without regard to race, color, national origin, status, or economic condition, shall be eligible to attend its worship services, participate in its programs, receive the sacraments, […]
My mother was terrified of water: terrified. She could sit on the edge of a pool almost shaking with fear. And yet, she sat on the edge of the pool. Mom’s almost irrational fear, of even the shallow end, came to me as a four year old through mandatory swim lessons. After ending one swim […]
“By the rivers of Babylon — there we sat down and there we wept when we remembered Zion. On the willows there we hung up our harps…. How could we sing the Lord’s song as slaves in foreign land?” Psalm 137 Today, I sat on my porch nearly in tears as I read the […]
The upcoming General Conference on human sexuality will say more about our understanding of God than our understanding of human sexuality. Will we affirm that “we are incorporated into God’s mighty acts of salvation and given new birth through water and the Spirit” and that “all this is God’s gift, offered to us without price?” […]
Jesus came to Nashville announcing God’s Good News: “The time is now! God’s kingdom is coming. Change your hearts and lives, and trust the Good News!” Is our world in need of Good News? Now is the time for faith, hope, and love. Now is the time to temper our speech, soften our hearts […]
Once upon a time, near a wide spot in a Tennessee road, lived Mrs. Grace. For forty three years Anna Grace taught algebra and calculus at the high school and played the piano every Sunday at a her little Methodist church. One afternoon Mrs. Grace dropped by church to get ready for choir rehearsal and […]
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