I sleep alone in my queen-size bed and I’ve slept alone in this bed for almost two years. You’d think that after two years, I’d sleep sprawled in the middle of this mattress, limbs stretching as far as they could reach. But two years after I last had company on this mattress, I still sleep […]
We expect some of the same things around Christmas: the same message, the same songs, the familiar traditions of it all. We still have to work to prepare the way of the Lord. For my family, this Christmas is different. Advent is different. Pregnancy has made it so, and I have come to understand that […]
Earlier this week, I ran into Jesus on Facebook. I was scrolling aimlessly through my news feed, and saw that my friend Rev. Tisha Brown, who pastors a UCC church up in Madison, had posted a video with this note: “This is incredible – not only feeding but loving the poor. I wish I was […]
Editor’s Note: With many clergy spending time in the summer focusing on Advent and Christmas preparations, Sunday Morning and Beyond is featuring a poem and sermon from Advent to help get those creative worship juices flowing. Happy Planning! Sing a New Song! Mary’s song – Luke 1 & Hannah’s song – 1 Samuel 2 Isaiah’s […]
Worship planning is an art. It’s a discipline. It must be done over and over and over again in order to get worship “under our skin.” How we plan worship reflects what we believe worship should be — a transformative, communal experience of observing, trusting, trying, reflecting, and taking chances for the sake of experiencing […]
by Lara Blackwood Pickrel When I was a little girl, Advent was my absolute favorite time of year. It is true that part of the excitement had to do with the promise of gifts under the tree – but my love for the season went far beyond a desire for presents. Looking back, it is […]
The sanctuary of our historic church was intentionally redesigned in the late 1960’s to recapture the “blank slate” of a traditional, Reformed worship space. When you walk into the sanctuary, it feels like a special place of worship. The challenge we face, however, is in capturing the imaginations of generations that are increasingly visual. We […]
Lord God, God of beginnings, and endings, God of the past, God of the future, God of judgment, and God of grace, God of waiting, and God of fulfillment: Fulfill in us the coming of Christ. May we, O God, Like Mary, treasure and guard the coming of your kingdom deep within us Nourishing it […]
As we move toward the already-and-not-yet of Advent, we celebrate Christ’s birth so long ago even as we know that Christ must be born in us again and again. Countless artists over the centuries have portrayed Advent themes and scenes. These block prints by Mary Allison Cates weave together the personal and the political with […]
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