The lion, the lamb, and the candidate
Yesterday morning Presidential candidate Julian Castro visited Edith at our church. He met with her privately for about 20 minutes, listening to her story, followed by a press conference at which Edith and he spoke. He expressed his support for Edith and his commitment to families in similar circumstances. Local…
Two years later – We are still here
For the past two years, this church building has been home for Edith. A community of support well beyond our congregation has formed around Edith and her family. What initially began as the right thing to do has grown into friendship and shared life – including celebrating birthdays and graduations. …
Talking about sex…at church
This Sunday at retreat will be the final week of our worship series on our (Membership) Commitment statement. Which means it’s time to start a new worship series. That theme, for the month of October, will be Healthy Sexuality. I guess that means we could either have full or very…
Casting no stones
The headline of this morning’s Dispatch addresses executions in Ohio and the drugs needed to carry them out. Despite drug makers warning Ohio officials not to use their products for executions, the article details multiple occasions in which state officials acquired these drugs, sending them to the state death chamber…
Enemy love
This week highlights our 5th commitment: “Love our neighbors and enemies, pursuing wholistic peace with justice.” We didn’t plan for it to coincide with the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the US, but it does. When Jesus says, in Matthew 5:44, “Love your enemies and pray for those who…
A morning with ICE
At 9:30 this morning eight of us gathered in a circle in the church foyer and joined hands. We prayed for a successful morning. We prayed for strength and courage and peace. Then seven of us headed out the door and drove to the ICE offices in LeVeque Tower downtown. …
1619 Project
This month the New York Times Magazine has been releasing a remarkable set of essays titled The 1619 Project. August marks 400 years since the first ship bearing enslaved Africans docked in Virginia colony. This is more than a recounting of history. The project, in its own words, “aims to…
“We commit…”
“We commit…” These two words could be spoken at a child dedication, a baptism, or a wedding. Each of these occasions honors a particular way of being in relationship. One in which mutual commitments offer themselves as fertile soil for growth and flourishing. These words also show up in the…
Joy and delight
In a recent interview with poet Ross Gay, Krista Tippet suggested that his work could be summarized as seeing “joy as a calling precisely in a moment like this.” The “moment like this” is our present condition of environmental degradation, blatant white nationalism, and general anxiety about the trajectory of…
Immigration actions
I arrived back from vacation last Wednesday. Usually this time of year is slower – a natural time to step away. But this last week hasn’t been slow – due mainly to our congregation being in the thick of immigrant justice work these days. Last Wednesday we hosted the monthly…
