Cooking with Elsa

Cooking up Grief

  • Waves of Grief after Waves of Nausea

    Grief is my constant companion. It is there every day and every moment even when there is a smile plastered to my face. Sometimes I choose not to acknowledge it. I don’t want it to dominate and there are still… Continue reading

    Waves of Grief after Waves of Nausea

  • How Grief Works

    Since the news early Wednesday morning, a collective cry has arisen from my fellow Americans. Many have said that it feels like someone they have loved has died. In these first few days after the news hit, they feel numb.… Continue reading

    How Grief Works

  • Premonitions of Grief

    Yesterday, another United Church of Christ pastor dared to ask a group of her colleagues and friends if we share in her experience of receiving premonitions. Stories bubbled up from within this trusted circle as much as they bubbled up… Continue reading

    Premonitions of Grief

  • 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

  • Hoarse with Prayer

    Between spurts of writing my sermon today, I checked Facebook. It seems it is something that every preacher does. When God isn’t speaking clearly, preachers open their browsers to scan posts on Facebook. Today, I kept coming back to the same story… Continue reading

  • My Grief Has A New Name

    My grief has a new name and its name is wedding planning. Way back when in July, I said yes before the fireworks. We had talked about it for so long — or what felt like so, so, so long… Continue reading

  • The Things They Carried

    Just the other day, I heard a story on National Public Radio about the objects that are being collected and preserved after September 11, 2001. Though I am a New Yorker, I wasn’t even in the country on that terrible day. I… Continue reading

  • Hang on to Each Other

    I can’t quite stop myself from watching this video of the Vice President exposing his grief so tenderly and so honestly. I’ve watched it again and again and again. He’s talking to people who know grief. You can hear it in their… Continue reading

  • Normal People Don’t Talk about Death So Much

    Does anyone really have that many stories about funerals? That’s what I was thinking as she told the third story. Was it really the third funeral story? I tried to retrace the steps of our conversation seated there in the… Continue reading

  • 6 Ways for Congregations to Care for Grieving Families

    Last week clergy did all that they could to proclaim the greatest mystery of Christian faith. They preached with all that they had in them. They led beautiful, inspiring liturgies throughout the weekend — some did so all week long.… Continue reading