Monthly Archives: April 2006

A Prayer for Allie

I knew Allie Bucy when she was about 8. Her mom, Carolyn was the youth minister at the church where I was a member. I was pretty self-involved at the time (what’s new?), planning for my wedding and going through the process of licensing to the ministry at the church. I left soon after those two events, that year, in fact, to go to seminary and on my way in life. My… Read More

Category: Answering the Call, Curating Wisdom Tags: Grief

Anxious Presence

It’s the first thing you learn in basic pastoral care class. The role of a pastor in a crisis situation is to be a non-anxious presence. That means that the pastor is supposed to be calm and reassuring under all conditions, even when everyone else is freaking out. The irony of this critical vocational skill is that there really is no learning a non-anxious presence. No class, practicum, study guide or tutorial… Read More

Category: Answering the Call Tags: Grief

Everybody Loves You When You’re Easy

The words to Sarah McLachlan’s song Black and White keep echoing in my head today. You know them? “ . . . everybody loves you when you’re easy, everybody hates when you’re a bore; everyone is waiting for your entrance so don’t disappoint them . . . everybody loves you when you’re easy so don’t disappoint them . . . don’t disappoint them . . . .”Life’s hard at the moment. All… Read More

Category: Answering the Call, Being the Church, Curating Wisdom, Living in Relationship

Gray

The sky was gray today. In the middle of a heart-achingly beautiful springtime filled with cherry blossoms and dappled sunlight, today the sky was flat, slate, gunmetal gray. The gray dulled the light so that everything looked a little subdued. As I made my way to the hospital I dodged in-between the raindrops, all the while watching the sky for the coming deluge. Even inside the hospital I noticed the gray. Gray… Read More

Category: Answering the Call Tags: Grief

Shouldering It All

One thing I’ve learned recently is that if you are a mother you can never guarantee pristine shoulders. I thought for awhile that this was a side-effect of having babies and I’m happy to say that, in the case of the babies, I always planned accordingly. I remember the first thing I did after learning our daughter Hannah had been born and we were going to travel to pick her up at… Read More

Category: Answering the Call, Living in Relationship Tags: Favorite, Parenting, Sam

Other Duties As Assigned

It’s the stuff you read in the newspaper way in the back by the comics. Or on The Onion. What I am trying to say is that this stuff just does not happen in real life. Well . . . it happened. Just yesterday, in fact. Downtown DC churches have been victims of a vicious crime spree over the last few months. I’m proud (?) to say I was first to have… Read More

Category: Being the Church, Laughing Out Loud

Vision In the Ashes

I’ve met some really interesting folks through the interweaving of church and blog life. One is Tripp Hudgins, whose blog is at this link: http://www.anglobaptist.org/blog/As you might imagine, I like Tripp’s irreverent approach to life. I also like that one of my wonderful new church members, Amy Dale, recently moved her membership from Tripp’s church in Chicago (thanks!). However, in the throes of Holy Week last week I visited Tripp’s site and… Read More

Category: Answering the Call, Curating Wisdom

Laugh Out Loud

Hats off to this funny lady . . . I had to reprint a blog entry she wrote called “Ministerial Attire,” which, as you may know, is a personal interest of mine. Who knew, however, that an entire blog could be devoted to this topic? A good, long laugh was most welcome today.“I had occasion to talk about dressing for the ministry with a group of seminarians recently, which was a kind… Read More

Category: Answering the Call, Curating Wisdom, Laughing Out Loud

How Can I Keep From Singing?

This song has wandered in and out of my life for some time. Most recently a friend emailed me the words . . . appropriate thoughts for this new day. Blessed Easter. How Can I Keep From SingingTraditional My life flows on in endless songAbove earth’s lamentationI hear the real, though far off hymnThat hails the new creationAbove the tumult and the strife,I hear the music ringing;It sounds an echo in my… Read More

Category: Curating Wisdom Tags: Easter

Loss

“At the temple, there is a poem called ‘Loss’, carved into the stone. It has three words, but the poet has scratched them out. You cannot read ‘Loss’ . . . only feel it.” from Memoirs of a Geisha Blessed Good Friday.

Category: Curating Wisdom

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