Advent begins with one candle flickering in the shadows. It is then that we start to pay attention. It is when that match strikes that we start to notice the fullness of the shadows. It is not just dark or there would not be shadows. The light never disappeared. It was always there for weContinue reading “Candlelighting in the Shadows of Advent”
Tag Archives: hope
Another Lent in Coronatide
Lent begins again in a few short weeks. Those few green Sundays between Epiphany and Ash Wednesday always seem to go by so quickly. There are eight whole weeks this year where it might be possible to relish in this in-between time but it still feels so fast when everything else feels rushed. And itContinue reading “Another Lent in Coronatide”
New Year Epiphanies
There is a lot that we hope for in this new year. There is so much we hope for that I dared to tag this worship service with the audacious claim that this worship might end the pandemic. It won’t. Of course, it won’t. The news broke yesterday in Germany that this pandemic isn’t likelyContinue reading “New Year Epiphanies”
Pandemic Lighting of the Advent Wreath
There are some readings that can be handed out to the families of your church without explanation. They know to read the script and light the candles. This is not that. This Advent is not that. We have learned to do worship differently in the past two years. Our traditions have shifted and we haveContinue reading “Pandemic Lighting of the Advent Wreath”
Pandemic Pentecost Affirmations
I read this morning that there are more churches closing in the wake of the pandemic. I have seen the reports about attendance and listened to how hard it is to wait in that Zoom room for anyone to join the room. The church will be forever changed by this pandemic. We will be foreverContinue reading “Pandemic Pentecost Affirmations”
An Easter Pageant for a Pandemic Year
This year, we have done things differently. Worship has been different and there have been surprises. There are things that have happened in worship that never would have been possible if we had not been forced into online worship for the care of every beloved child of God. Sometimes, different is good. It invites usContinue reading “An Easter Pageant for a Pandemic Year”
Waiting for Resurrection in Coronatide
Easter will come just as it has every year before because resurrection is promised. It happens even when we cannot fully comprehend its possibility. Resurrection still happens. I have been thinking a lot about hope this Lent. I’ve been thinking about its texture and its sensation. It can come to live inside us and itContinue reading “Waiting for Resurrection in Coronatide”
Recipe for Resurrection Awe Strolls
Here in Texas there has been a terrible freeze. There was snow and it left a good chunk of the state without power including most everyone in my sweet Texas church back in Central Texas. We did have snow over here in West Texas and it actually stuck around for a day or two butContinue reading “Recipe for Resurrection Awe Strolls”
Pandemic Prayers for the Return of Lent
I do not feel ready for this season to arrive. I know that it will be different. It will be less disciplined but no less introspective than every other day since that first case changed our whole lives. There is the Lent that I typically yearn to experience where I exert extra energy on figuringContinue reading “Pandemic Prayers for the Return of Lent”
Illuminating the Way to Hope in Another Pandemic Lent
Years ago, and I mean years ago, I wrote this liturgy for the six Sundays in Lent. It was an extended Tenebrae or a reversal of the Advent wreath. I wish I had explained it better in the original post. I had completely forgotten about it until some kind soul mysteriously found it in myContinue reading “Illuminating the Way to Hope in Another Pandemic Lent”
Cooking with Elsa 