Cooking with Elsa

Elsa Anders Cook

  • Another Ending

    In the Gospel of Mark, there are two endings to the gospel story. In the first ending, they are perplexed and afraid. They run away from what they see at the tomb full of this fear. In the second ending,… Continue reading

  • The Problem with Evil

    I’ll admit it. I have a problem with evil. It’s not just that I don’t want it to exist. I’m literally not sure what to do with it. This is what I’ve realized in these first few weeks of Lent… Continue reading

  • Writing through Lent

    When it came time to pick a practice for this Lent, I chose writing.  It came quite easily as my parents had kindly celebrated my birthday by giving me every book off of my Amazon.com Wishlist including Rachel Hackenberg’s Writing… Continue reading

  • How to Make Ashes

    Every year, I enjoy the ritual of transforming last year’s palms into ashes. This year, I posted something about this ritual on Facebook which spurred a series of responses from some dear clergy friends who had little success in making… Continue reading

    How to Make Ashes

  • Stewardship! O Stewardship!

    Like every other organization that relies on the generosity of others, the church I serve is struggling during these economic times. We are not alone in this reality — but sometimes we act like it. Earlier this week, I sat… Continue reading

  • Transfigured

    After Leisurely Lectionary this morning, which admitted only ended moments ago, I raced back to try to remember what the word transfigured actually means. We were interpreting it as change this morning, but I’m not sure that’s right. Of course,… Continue reading

  • Epiphany for Epiphany

    Two weeks ago, I left sunny Florida feeling a bit demoralized. I’d just completed the third retreat for the Lewis Fellows complete with its requisite day-long seminar in freezing air conditioning and an additional day of visiting area churches. There… Continue reading

  • Best Sermon Ever

    It happened in the middle of Advent. I wrote a sermon that was completely and totally me. It was one of those sermons that just poured out of me. It wasn’t forced. I didn’t agonize over it. It was just… Continue reading

  • Questioning Social Media

    Today, while the internet is blacked out in protest, I am thinking about my online presence. It’s been on my mind a lot recently. It’s been on my mind ever since this case study about The Young Clergy Women Project… Continue reading

  • Leap Year

    From the top of Mount Culter Last year, I realized that this year is leap year — so I spent today practicing leaping. Not literally because I made the poor choice of trying to leap across a frozen mountain. I… Continue reading