Elsa Anders Cook

  • Chickens and Shepherds

    I don’t often post my sermons but after worship I was asked for the manuscript for the sermon I had just preached. I went way off script today — which I seldom do — so I decided to try to remember… Continue reading

    Chickens and Shepherds
  • That Peace Might be Possible on Super Tuesday

    I don’t consider myself to be especially patriotic. I don’t even consider myself to be all that political but I am certainly not patriotic. I am reminded of this each and every time I put my hand over my heart… Continue reading

    That Peace Might be Possible on Super Tuesday
  • Monday Menu Planning

    With my cookbooks piled around me, Mondays are often the day when I begin to think about what we’ll eat this week. I think about food ALL OF THE TIME but Monday is usually the day where I make lists and choose… Continue reading

    Monday Menu Planning
  • A Failure of Imagination

    On the same day when my article appeared on New Sacred about how a progressive faith isn’t defined by issues, Susan Jacoby was interviewed on NPR’s Fresh Air. It was in fact just yesterday. Just yesterday, on my way home from the… Continue reading

    A Failure of Imagination
  • Blinking Cursor

    “Keep your butt in the chair. You do it at the same time every day. You never wait for inspiration — it’s ridiculous, it will never come. No one in your family is going to hope for you to be… Continue reading

    Blinking Cursor
  • Lessons from the Past

    After worship was over, in the middle of the Annual Meeting of this tiny church I’m serving as interim pastor, we shared in the work of memory. Earlier that week, I had taped a blue line upon the wall of… Continue reading

    Lessons from the Past
  • Last Minute Plans for Lent

    Lent is just one week away. Most plans have already been laid out. It’s been printed in the newsletter and in the bulletin. Resources have been ordered. Palms have been burned. (I know because the traffic on this old post… Continue reading

  • Letters to Heaven

    Every year, as January comes to a close and the calendar turns to February, I start to wonder about what I’ll say to her this year. I wonder about what I would want her to know about this year and who I… Continue reading

  • Transfiguration Communion

    After writing this liturgy this morning, I am more convinced than ever that we should never, ever celebrate the Transfiguration of Christ without communion. Doesn’t this ritual hit all of the high notes captured in the mystery of this story?… Continue reading

    Transfiguration Communion
  • More Questions Than Answers

    It wasn’t that long ago that started serving as an interim pastor at a small church celebrating 200 years amid questions of whether or not there will be a future beyond this anniversary. This morning, before worship began, one of the members… Continue reading