Devastation. Displacement. Death. Lord, the images from California capture only a fraction of the suffering and pain consuming your people who seek missing loved ones, wait to return to non-existent homes and worry about what comes next week, next month, next year. Hearing the voices of public officials and fire fighters, citizens and local politicians, all trying to remain hopeful, helpful and calm, we know they are fearful, frayed and exhausted. We ask, Holy Comforter, that you envelop them with courage and strengthen them for the work ahead. We pray that the fire of the Holy Spirit will replace the flames of grief with those of stamina, power and peace. We trust, God, that your breath of mercy, grace and rebirth will blow among the winds that spread destruction and bring relief and the assurance of your good and promised future. Knowing that the earth and all that is in it belongs to you, Lord of All, we commit to caring for creation, every person, every creature, in ways that … [Read more...]

“Caring is not enough.” “Good intentions are not enough.” Erin Swenson, a licensed counselor and transgender Presbyterian minister from Atlanta, told those gathered for her workshop: “Caring is not enough.” Pastors, chaplains and other faith leaders need to be prepared, equipped and willing to journey alongside transgender and gender non-conforming people and their families. The “Beyond Pink and Blue: Transitions and Transgender Care” conference in Charlottesville, Virginia, kicked off on Sunday, October 21, in the wake of news out of Washington that President Trump planned to eliminate “transgender” and the rudimentary protections that went along with the category. Participants, presenters and the cloud of witnesses in the virtual cloud had no idea that the timing of the conference would resonate with culture so closely. No information, conversation or story felt theoretical; all seemed urgent and more a matter of life and death than ever. “A matter of life and death” is no … [Read more...]