Posts

Talking About Gun Violence With Our Kids

Kids are smart. They’re like teeny little philosophers, seeking to make sense of the world and always asking the pointed question I never seem to have the answer to on hand! That can make us want to avoid tough conversations. But if we don’t have these conversations, our kids are going to pick up information […]

Cultivating Joy (Cultivating Hope in the Climate Crisis- Advent 3)

Prayer of the Day Creator God, so often we look around us and see only the changes that need to be made. We look past what you are doing in the lives of the children who surround us. Open our eyes to the joy of the world they are creating alongside you. Amen. 

Let the Little Children Come

My twin daughters were about two years old when my church, along with two others, began holding weekly evening services of dinner church. Most of the time the girls were perfectly at ease, sometimes helping to set the tables for dinner but often playing quietly in a corner, a corner I’m sure we are all […]

In Search of a Non-White Baby Jesus and Post-Partum Mary: Board Book Edition

My internet search for “Christmas Board Book” was yielding snow, candy canes, Santa, and saccharine messages about “giving” as the true meaning of Christmas. Worse, searches for “Nativity Board Book” and “Baby Jesus Board Book” turned up white Jesus and a skinny post-partum Mary. The closest to a non-white Jesus I could find was the […]

Blessing of the Backpacks

I have always loved back to school season. As a child I looked forward to picking out my new folder and composition book, eagerly watching as my mother painstakingly wrote our names on every item that would accompany us on our first day of school. When I finally graduated for the last time, I would […]

Talking to Young Children about Death

Recently a fellow young clergywoman shared a story* in which she was talking to her five-year-old daughter about death. Mom was preparing her daughter to visit the funeral home where the child’s great-grandmother was lying in wake. She was explaining what it means to have a body in a casket but reassured her daughter, “It’s […]

When Love Blurs

I know we’re not supposed to have favorites, but let me tell you about my favorite. I met her ten years ago. Her brother was an active member of our neighborhood youth group. He’d walk a few blocks from his house to ours to hang out or participate in an activity. Then, he moved. Their […]

The Story Bible That Made Me Cry: A Review of Growing in God’s Love: A Story Bible

Confession – I’m a pastor, but I’m not great about reading the Bible with my kids. Maybe it’s because it feels a little bit like work. Maybe it’s because I’m just too tired at the end of the day. Maybe it’s because my kids whine, “Ugh, it’s not even SUNDAY.” Maybe I just know too […]

Faithful Families: An Interview with Traci Marie Smith

Faithful Families has new material, expanding on Seamless Faith. Which faith practice were you most excited to add? Though it is a sad practice, I was grateful to write a practice for pregnancy loss. It’s something that was requested in more than one workshop and small group discussion. Losing a child before birth is heart […]

Not So Silent: Christmas Worship with Children

Dearest church people, Get ready. In two days it’ll be Christmas Eve. Your congregation will welcome people in for one of the biggest nights of the year. You may be blessed with an overrun of visitors, and I hope some of those visitors will be children and their parents. In the spirit of preparation (it […]