I don't know your personal circumstances or the details of what's keeping you up nights right now. But I almost certainly know something that's true about you, in this season. Your hands are too empty. It may not feel that way, because you've probably said, more than once in recent weeks, "I've got my hands full," with this decision or that one, or hammering out some strategy that you hope will get you through this time, or trying to homeschool and work and keep yourself sober. But in a time of no answersno certaintyno controlnot enough of some things (toilet paper, PPE, groceries … [Read more...] about For a Time of Empty Hands
When You Don’t Know Who’s Worshiping
You used to know who was in the worship services you were leading, or attending. You could look around and you'd see familiar, beloved faces. You'd know, in most churches, who the "new" people were. It's the familiar, beloved ones we're (mostly) lamenting right now. They're the ones we pastors picture when we stand before a camera in an empty room. When some of us have posted pictures along our pews to represent the absent worshipers, theirs are the faces we've included. With churches now empty and worship freshly moved online, it would be easy to focus on the ways we're in the … [Read more...] about When You Don’t Know Who’s Worshiping
Loving One Another
It's Holy Week and so Jesus says, again, during his last supper with his disciples: "love one another" (John 13.34). I think he's saying it to us, too, looking us straight in the eye: "Love one another, now. I mean it." We might say, "But Jesus, have you ever been locked in with your family for weeks at a time, with nowhere to go, with spotty Wifi, with no new Saturday Night Live, with people dying and jobs ending and no end in sight?" Jesus doesn't say "Love one another when they're not on your last nerve." He tells us to love "as I have loved you," Drat. It's like those … [Read more...] about Loving One Another
A Time for Foolishness
It tickles me that there's a day set aside for foolishness. April Fool's Day is a favorite tradition in my family. Or, if you asked my (now-grown-up) boys, it might be more correct to say it's a favorite tradition for me. Every year, I make it a point to see what I can get someone to fall for. One year, my husband was flattered that I had submitted his name to be a contestant on an IPTV "Chopped"-style competition for local chefs, and I had just gotten word that he was "in." My oldest son thought that was amazing, too, and was so proud of his dad. Until I told them it was an April Fool. … [Read more...] about A Time for Foolishness
Matter-of-Fact Violence Against Women
Have you noticed the stress of living in close confinement during this time when we're all well advised to stay at home? It's not easy, I suspect, for any of us, but for some it will be a matter of life and death and injury and lasting scars. So I'm posting today a reflection I wrote for future posting in the blog of the General Commission on the Status and Role of Women (COSROW) of the United Methodist Church. I hope we all might be praying for adults and children who are experiencing violence in their homes in this challenging and uncertain season. You can learn more about how to respond to … [Read more...] about Matter-of-Fact Violence Against Women
Connecting across Generations
Last week in this space I asked you to try this: Take out a piece of paper, or hit the “comment” button on this post, or open up an e-mail to me at FoolishChurch@gmail.com and send me 3 ways you could initiate a conversation with a person who’s 20 years younger than you. OR, for those of you who are under 40: 3 ways someone 20 years older than you could initiate a conversation with you. By “initiate a conversation,” I mean a good one. I mean a conversation you’d both want to be in. I mean a conversation, where your first words might lead to a … [Read more...] about Connecting across Generations