God is doing a new thing: Connections during COVID-19
We talk in circles about how the church is a place for connecting, a place for people to find community. And..
Clutch colleagues
In a year of lament, it is a challenge to find and celebrate joy. “What is your joy this year?” our church..
New life, new creativity
Last year at the beginning of the pandemic, I brought home my potted succulents from my study at the church. I set..
Of tomato plants and churches
A few months ago, I bought some tomatoes at the grocery store. My wife cut one open and discovered that..
Looking forward to a post-pandemic era
Now, in early 2021, many people, including some who once doubted, know that the COVID-19 pandemic is deadly serious and distressingly..
Six lessons learned about faith formation in the midst of a pandemic
Religious educator John Westerhoff invited us years ago to understand faith as a verb more than a noun. Westerhoff argued that persons..
Rooted resilience
I was a guest preacher a few months ago in these weird days of this in-between time. No one was there. I..
Grief is a way of loving: Pastoral theology for a pandemic
“We are not alone. We live in God’s world.” These words open the United Church of Canada’s affirmation of faith, known..
What has the pandemic taught the church?
The biggest takeaway in pandemic learning for the church is that we can adapt and change quickly. I had just a few..
Witness to wounds
After nearly a year of COVID-19 – of stay-at-home orders, quarantines, physical distancing and sheltering in place – I keep returning to..
Prayer marking one year of COVID-19
We lament our year of sickness. God who both forms light and creates darkness, we saw our world covered with sickness, and..
I will miss: Pandemic journal sketches of a pastor
I miss many things and many people more than I can count, but I will count. The smiles of saints, women..
Simplify: The key to effective family ministries in 2021… and always
As we gear up for another year of improvising, going with the flow and making the best of less-than-ideal circumstances, many who..
Pandemic ministry: Lessons learned from navigating snow
In addition to the global pandemic that we are all navigating our way through in our many different contexts (for me, that..
Churches minister to children and families in creative ways during the pandemic
Amid all the bad news of the pandemic, there is one thing that remains true and steadfast: the good news of the..
Holy Week and Easter during the pandemic: What are Presbyterians planning?
For the second weary year, churches are preparing to celebrate Holy Week – the holiest week in the Christian calendar – at..
Numbers and names
In Louisville, Kentucky, our year began on March 13. That evening the police fired 32 bullets into an apartment where Breonna..
Praying the Lord’s Prayer in the pandemic
These are tough times for all of us in many ways. The pandemic brings death and sorrow, endangering everyone. Our lives are..
Rosalee
As I looked over the bulletin in my office, I heard the faint sound of our front doorbell ringing. I have missed..
“You give them something to eat”
Guest commentary by Elizabeth Lovell Milford “You give them something to eat.” This is the simple instruction Jesus gives his disciples in..
I’m wrestling with the COVID-19 vaccine…
I’m a 32-year-old pastor serving a wonderful congregation in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. As of the time of this writing, I have..
Content without distraction
Guest commentary by Aaron Neff Shortly after Epiphany, my family took down our Christmas tree. It was a sad affair for my..
Tattoos for Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday is always a big day for the Lyon College campus. It’s a day that our students look forward to for..
Something I did not learn in seminary: Ashes
I did not grow up receiving ashes at the start of Lent. My first exposure to the blackened sign of the cross..
Building bridges, one challah at a time
Guest commentary by Beth Ricanati and Chris Carson A Christian and a Jew bake sacred bread together. They do so distanced; the..
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