From dust you came and to dust you shall return.
Tonight, I will repeat these words over and over as I look into the eyes of church members – people who count on my to reveal the presence of God in their midst. People who look to me for hope and wholeness. People who come week in and week out, seeking the God who creates and sustains.
This week at Broadway, we are beginning a new Sunday School curriculum with the children. I am beyond excited for the ways the Shine On Curriculum will help our children meet God in new and imaginative ways. As I prepared to lead our Sunday School teachers through the first week’s lesson, this prayer came to my heart, and it is…
In 1999, a fresh faced, energetic 12-year-old hopped onto the back of a charter bus with her lifelong best friend, sister, and about 60 other teenagers from her neighborhood church to head to Daytona, Florida, for a week at Passport Youth Camp. After only six years of providing the “youth camping with a mission program,” Passport already had a reputation…
Many people talk about giving things up for Lent. Some give up chocolate, others Facebook. Some of my crazier friends give up sugar or coffee (essentially, they are giving up all their friends for 40 days, because I’m not sure how they will function – or be pleasant). The practice started as a way to join Jesus in the wilderness,…
I don’t remember much about life before elementary school. Since I’ve moved back to Louisville, I’ve met a few people who apparently taught me when I was in preschool at Southern Seminary, and connected with a few friends who must have been in my class, but unfortunately I have no memory of them. If I go back into the deep…
October is Clergy Appreciation Month. Over the next four weeks, I will share the stories of ministers who impacted my life and faith journey. Today, however, I begin Clergy Appreciation Month with a look back on my first year as a full time clergy person. At this time last year, I walked into the church building each day with a…
A year ago today, I announced to all my friends that my days of searching for a church were over (at least for the extended future, anyway). After nearly a year of editing resumes, filling out questionnaires, meeting with search committees, falling in and out of love with churches, and starting back over again, I finally found the place where…
“Be good,” my mom said as she hugged my neck and left me in the pew beside my grandparents. “And keep your hair away from the flame!” I heard her yell over shoulder as she made her way back to the organ, where she would stay for the rest of the Christmas Eve service. I was 6. “What did she…
2014 has been a year of ups and downs not only for me, but for our country and world. I feel like I’ve said far too many goodbyes over the past year, heard too many stories of violence tearing families apart, and watched as political disputes exposed how nasty we can be to one another. But 2014 was also a…
This post was originally featured on Call and Response, a blog sponsored by Duke Divinity’s Faith & Leadership program. Two years after I wrote this post, I find myself searching for ways to extend learning and mentoring relationships so that there is a place for the young, energetic minister and the wise, seasoned minister (maybe even from different churches!) to…
Rev. on the Edge 