Starting a New Call: A Top 10 List of Dos and Don’ts
Pace yourself. You are going to be tempted to go, go, go. Don’t give in to the temptation. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.
The Heroine’s Journey, Part Four: Experiencing the Boon of Success
This post is the fourth in what will be a series of ten exploring the kinship between the Heroine’s Journey as established by Maureen Murdock, my lived experience of ministry as a female clergy person, and a few familiar fictional characters. Each devotional will end with a blessing for the Heroine at each stage of […]
A Pastor in the Real World
For years I have joked about what I would do with my life if this ministry thing didn’t work out. As with all jokes, there has always been a part to it that is tragic and true. In February of this year, I swore off congregational ministry. As a pastor, I experienced a type of […]
A Ministry of Ending
Would we close? Or could we keep going? It was the question that occupied my mind as I drove to meet with a denominational leader about my congregation. And it was the question that came at me from every side as I began my ministry as a solo pastor of an urban congregation in St. […]
The Heroine’s Journey, Part 3- Road of Trials: Meeting Ogres and Dragons
This post is the third in what will be a series of ten exploring the kinship between the Heroine’s Journey as established by Maureen Murdock, my lived experience of ministry as a female clergy person, and a few familiar fictional characters. Each devotional will end with a blessing for the Heroine at each stage of […]
The Heroine’s Journey, Part Two: Identification with the Masculine and Gathering of Allies
This post is the second in what will be a series of ten exploring the kinship between the Heroine’s Journey as established by Maureen Murdock, my lived experience of ministry as a female clergy person, and a few familiar fictional characters. Each devotional will end with a blessing for the Heroine at each stage of […]
The Heroine’s Journey and A Life of Feminine Ministry Devotional
This spring will mark the ten year anniversary of my graduation from seminary. If I had had to guess what course my ministry life would have taken over these ten years, I would have been wrong. So wrong. As of the writing of this article, I have been considered by about two dozen ministries. From […]
What The 12 Steps Taught Me About Spirituality
When I was doing my first field education placement at an Episcopal Church in New Jersey, my supervisor required me to attend an AA meeting. He said it was important for me to have this experience as I prepared for ministry. I had heard of AA but had never gone to a meeting before. I […]
The Emergence of Fandom Church
Beginning in 2012 and through 2013, while waiting for my first call, I worked for the missional outreach face of my seminary’s website. I edited a collection of essays from a class on church revitalization and wrote a few original pieces reflecting on my experiences as a Millennial who was also a practicing Christian. In […]
Lent is a Season To Tend Our Hollowness
2 Corinthians 4:7, “But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us.” Lent is a tough season in the liturgical calendar. It is a time for preparation, which means that it is a time for spiritual […]
