Posts

The Cost of Inclusion

There is a hymn that is often sung in churches entitled “All Are Welcome,” and in the fourth verse there is a line that goes: Here the outcast and the stranger bear the image of God’s face; let us bring an end to fear and danger. All are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome […]

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 […]

All Inclusive (a top ten list)

So often in ministry we preach the sermons we need to hear just as much as our congregations need to hear them. That was certainly true of this top ten list. My spouse, you see, is genderqueer. This list is grounded in my experience as a spouse watching even the most progressive churches stumble when […]

Ask a Young Clergy Woman: Running Down the Aisles Edition

Dear Askie, Recently, our church has seen an increase in young children attending worship. Now, I love children very much, and I know that young families are a wonderful addition to our congregation. However, the noise and commotion can be very disruptive, and really detracts from my (and others’) worship experience. Our congregation offers childcare, […]

A View From the Pew

I am a newcomer. That is an identity that I haven’t worn in 18 years.  But as a newly-staying-at-home mom who also happens to be an Episcopal priest, a priest whose family spent several months seeking a church home, I see church through new eyes….the eyes of one sitting in a pew. My husband, two […]

Safety Pins and Masking Tape

by Stacey Midge Ten minutes to show time, and the pews are filled with guests. Soft, unobtrusive music flows from the organ pipes, muffling voices and the footfalls of last-minute arrivals. The groom and groomsmen, thankfully all present and accounted for, wait in the lounge for their cue. Parents smile and check for the tissues […]

Ministry of Presence…

by Mihee Kim-Kort (This article was originally published as a blog post at Mihee's blog: First Day Walking on April 24, 2010) As I prepare for work/worship on Sunday, I realize that I actually don’t have any huge responsibilities – it’s a “regular” Sunday School day, and the high school youth are doing worship. It’s […]

Holy Housework

The work of Lent is something of a spiritual house-cleaning: whether it involves organizing a back closet, bringing out and discarding things that need to go, adding something beautiful to a room, making space for a new guest. Hard work, but it sounds so beautiful when it’s something done in your heart and soul. But […]