by Rachel Cornwell “Does the mommy guilt ever subside long enough to feel good about anything you’re doing?” This was the question that a new mom in my congregation who was returning to work following her all-too-brief maternity leave tearfully asked, and I resonated deeply with her grief, anxiety and, yes, her guilt. It wasn’t [...]
“Waters of Love” and “Birth Water”: New Poetry
by Sharon Benton Pastor and poet Sharon Benton sent these poems last month with the comment, “It’s the end of January, so baptism texts may be over…” And yet the themes of void, chaos, formlessness, and being born to new life are timely as we approach Ash Wednesday and the reflective season of Lent. In [...]
Sisters. No, not the kind that wear habits.
by Susan Foster I am the baby of my family. My sister was sixteen years old when I was born. We never attended the same schools or shared the clothes in our closets. In fact, most of my memories of my sister growing up are around holidays, when she was home from college. As I [...]
When the Heavens Had to Shout
by Elizabeth Evans Hagan Matthew 17:1-9 Preached on Feb. 3, 2008 at First Baptist Church of Gaithersburg, MD After preaching for the third consecutive year on Transfiguration Sunday, I found myself amazed that I had something new to say on the same passage. After my father’s second year of seminary, my parents got joyous news [...]
Weddings and Wonder
by Kate Hurst Floyd There are moments, we say, when the Holy breaks in. Moments in our earthly messiness when God’s majesty soars down to meet us. Moments in our worldly brokenness when God’s perfect peace burrows up to find us. Moments when the miraculous takes hold, and we are left breathless. Filled with awe [...]
Aborting God
Name Withheld Mary, Mother of our Lord: Only you would know. You could only understand when an angel appears and tells you not to be afraid when that’s all you are. You’re terrified of what seems impossible. And yet, the angel reads your mind and assures you that nothing will be impossible with God. Nothing. [...]
The Practical Pregnant Pastor
by Ann Bonner-Stewart I don’t exactly know when I became a resident in the Land of Completely and Obviously Pregnant. I do know by the time mid-January rolled around, a stranger at an interment identified my pregnant belly under four layers of vestments: clericals, cassock, surplice, and, for lack of a better description, giant black [...]
Slumdog Millionaire
by Elsa A. Peters When is life not a multiple choice question? When does life challenge us to make one choice rather than selecting the ever-tempting ever-impossible All of the Above? There is only one of choice — or at least, this is what Director Danny Boyle presents in the story of Jamal Malik in the award-winning [...]