Posts

Home by Another Road: Nonviolence, Ceasefire, and Peace in the Middle East

“And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, (the magi) left for their own country by another road.” Matthew 2:12, NRSV After successfully following the star to meet the Christ Child in Bethlehem, the magi were supposed to return to Herod’s palace in Jerusalem to report on the child’s whereabouts. At […]

Cultivating Peace (Cultivating Hope in the Climate Crisis- Advent 2)

Prayer of the Day Maker of All That Is, thank you. You are our Source of life and hope. Forgive us for all the ways we sin against you and the Earth. Restore our connection to you and all of Creation, that we might be a part of your great Restoration of the world. Reconnect […]

Peace is a Practice (Book Review)

In her book Peace is a Practice, artist and musician Morgan Harper Nichols posits that finding peace is not finding a state of being but rather joining a river flowing all around us. Perhaps the reason we aren’t at peace is because we are so busy that we miss the river of peace flowing slowly […]

A Litany to Pray in the Wake of Gun Violence

You created us in your own image, an image of love and grace.  You have called us to live in peace with one another, to be instruments of your peace and justice in this world.  Surround us with your divine presence as we mourn and as we rage in the face of yet another mass […]

When the World Is Fighting: Talking about War (and Peace) at Home

Excerpted from When Kids Ask Hard Questions, Volume 2: More Faith-Filled Responses for Tough Topics (Coming soon from Chalice Press)*   I have a vivid memory of sitting on the carpeted floor of my sister’s basement as she wrangled with her toddler. “Shock and Awe”—the phrase used to describe the United States’ initial invasion of Baghdad in […]

Swords Into Plowshares

I would like to begin by sharing a bit of how I came to realize that gun violence is my problem, and not only can I be a part of the solution, but as a Christian, as a human being, as a mother, I have to be. I grew up in rural Maine. Many of […]

Fungibility: A Vocabulary Lesson for White People

The nerd force has always been strong with me. When other kids were competing in sports events over the weekends, I was competing in storytelling contests to see who could recite a story from memory with the most accurate detail. Middle school found me occupied with a group called Future Problem Solvers, who were given […]

Striving for Justice and Peace Among All People: Advocacy, Activism, and the Baptismal Covenant

During Baptisms, Easter and other special occasions in The Episcopal Church, churchgoers are asked eight questions known as The Baptismal Covenant. It begins as a statement of faith laid out in straightforward question and answer style with questions aren’t all that questionable. Do you believe in God? Do you believe in Jesus Christ, the Son […]

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 […]

A Prayer for Syria… A Prayer for Peace

As I write this, the world waits to see if (or, sadly, when) the U.S. and its allies may launch some sort of military strike against the Syrian government in retaliation for the country’s use of chemical weapons last week. Indeed, the news reports and gruesome images of the ongoing violence occurring in that region have […]