These can be used within a regular service of worship, or at other occasions such as a church retreat, a special prayer service, or even just in your newsletter or at a meeting.
It is said that when people stand at the edge of things – the rim of the Grand Canyon, for example, or the top of a tall, tall building – many sometimes experience a pull from the depths, a terror that holds all attention; what researchers have come to label… Read More »Creation at the Edge: Prayers and Readings for Election Season 2024
The journey leads us to an empty tomb Easter brings surprise Easter brings a shout and a sob Easter brings questions This song is written both from the perspective of the women at Jesus’ tomb on Easter morning, and from our perspective as well. Sometimes the lines between the two… Read More »Easter Anthem
Did you ever notice that, in the Bible, it seems like anytime angels make themselves known to a human, the first words they say are, “Fear not.” That doesn’t strike me as a very realistic expectation. A little fear in the face of this strange and divine presence is not… Read More »The Qualifier Angel
During National Poetry Month’s 2020 “Poem a Day” challenge, the prompt for one day was to write a Haiku variant that consisted of three lines – with one, two, three words. “Vigil” was the result – something stark and simple, like standing outside the courthouse or detention center or state… Read More »Vigil
Trust the science! I was never much good at science, but here goes: Quantum physics somewhere along the line has discovered that the “building blocks” of matter (discreet, separate) are not really blocks anymore. They’re waves or fields, connected, not discrete and separate. Several years ago I read two books… Read More »Proclamation and Confession of Faith
We love in the face of deathIf we can do that, we can do anything During the early days of COVID, there were stories abounding about how we could hear the birds again, since traffic noise was down. How clean the streets were. How the water was clearer. I wrote… Read More »This Is What We Do
On my first Christmas Eve as a newly-ordained pastor, I stood at the pulpit looking out at the gathered congregation in the soft glow of candlelight, basking in the “jolly holly” feel that I had known all my life on Christmas Eve. Then I really looked out at the congregation.… Read More »Deep into the Dark
As the overworked saying goes, “Denial is not a river in Egypt.” This reading speaks to our denial-laden attempts to make these Not Ordinary Times ordinary again, to capitulate to Business as Usual. But something tugs at us like a hungry toddler demanding our attention: something is not right. This… Read More »Not Ordinary Times
I’m a retired pastor. I’ve spent many years preaching Easter sermons. I’m allowed to say this: I sometimes wonder if we try to be too profoundly theological at Easter, when Easter is really – and simply – a time of wonder and questions, laced with a goodly bit of celebration… Read More »Easter
One Christmas Eve a few years ago, as our congregation here in Denver stood together in a circle in the dark sanctuary, singing “Silent Night”, I was incredibly struck by the power of a community holding candlelight and singing in the night. “This is who we are,” I thought, “This… Read More »Holding Light