Ingredients for Worship
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Heavens Are Opened
This Sunday marks one of my favorite liturgical celebrations where water is flung across the Sanctuary and we each remember our baptisms. It is the Baptism of Christ as we remember it told in Luke 3:15-17, 21-22. As our heavens are… Continue reading
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The Birth of Hope
I’ve been thinking a lot about hope — where it comes from and how we find it. Because it seems hard to find right now. Any proclamation of hope feels nonsensical. It feels trite and ridiculous. Or worse, it’s so obscure… Continue reading
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Litany for the Birth on Christmas
It was raining all today and I was generally uninspired but sat my butt down in the chair and wrote the liturgy for Christmas Eve. Though I’m currently serving a congregation as an interim pastor, I was hired after I’d… Continue reading
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Advent and Christmas Candle Liturgies
Today and yesterday, I’ve read some really beautiful liturgies from friends and colleagues preparing for Advent. Check out the beautiful liturgies written by my friends Teri and Martha. Advent is only three Sundays away. Three Sundays. And it was 77 degrees outside yesterday. I… Continue reading
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The Warmth of God’s Saints
All Saints is one of my very, very favorite liturgical celebrations. It is a ritual that was introduced to me in the liturgical laboratory of my seminary. Sitting in James Memorial Chapel, I experienced for the very first time what… Continue reading
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The Hill of the Lord
This Sunday is one of the days in our liturgical calendar when I would rather be sitting in the back of the Sanctuary quietly praying. But, I am called to preach. I’m called to guide myself and others through the holy… Continue reading
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Running Naked
It was only a few weeks ago that I found this beautiful passage from a colleague’s sermon on her blog Spacious Faith. That little passage from her sermon archives inspired what I preached that Sunday. I tend to be in… Continue reading
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The Time Has Come
As you may have seen over and over again, I have been filling in as Guest Minister at Community Congregational Church in Short Hills, NJ. I preached this past Sunday on John 17:1-24. You can find the audio — and even a video… Continue reading
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Remain in Love
As you may have seen over and over again, I’m filling in as Guest Minister at Community Congregational Church in Short Hills, NJ. I preached this past Sunday on John 15:1-8. You can find the audio of the sermon entitled Remain in Love on… Continue reading
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Thank God for Ritual
This prayer arrived too late. I saw it in my email when I pulled into the church parking lot. I smirked at the title of the post. Oh, Martha, I thought. (She penned that prayer and happens to be an… Continue reading
Cooking with Elsa 