If we were to believe the President’s social media feed... this has been a BIG week for world peace. First, on Wednesday, the Department of State announced that the US Institute of Peace would now be called “the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace."  Founded as an independent, non-profit think tank funded by Congress, the institute's mission is to research and teach the promotion of international peace and conflict resolution.  But, since his second term began, Trump has moved

The first time I preached an Advent sermon was December 2023.  It was a difficult task for a young preacher. Not just because I was new, but also because every pastor was preaching in the shadow of terrible violence. First, the devastating massacre of 1200 Israeli civilians by Palestinian militants on October 7. Then the horrific military assault unleashed by the Israeli government on the people of Gaza. By the time I was to give my sermon in early December, the Palestinian

Scripture Reading for the day — Romans 12 If you’ve ever received an email from me, you may have noticed this quote at the bottom of my signature. “We have all known the long loneliness, and we have learned that the only solution is love and that love comes with community.” This quote comes from the autobiography of American journalist, social activist, and co-founder of the Catholic Worker movement, Dorothy Day. Born in 1897, Dorothy Day spent her early adulthood immersed in

In the summer of 1954, Pauli Murray—civil rights lawyer, activist, and writer—arrived at the prestigious MacDowell Colony in New Hampshire as an artist-in-residence. At 43 years old, Murray had come to work on what would become her first autobiography, Proud Shoes: The Story of an American Family.  The book tells the remarkable, true story of Murray's own family through enslavement, survival, and interracial family histories in the South from the pre-Civil War era through Rec

Scripture: Luke 10:25-37 Have you ever had a really good neighbor?  Growing up, mine was Denise.  She was the mom two doors down, who always made her house open to us neighborhood kids. Around her table, we shared tamales and Thanksgiving dinner, played Mexican train, and did art projects late into the night. She made us laugh endlessly. She was someone my mom could ask to pick us up from school if we got sick. I trusted her like I trusted my own parents. How about you? Who c

Scripture Readings: Habakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4, Luke 19:1-10 Today’s first scripture reading comes from the little-known prophet Habakkuk. Unlike most prophets, Habakkuk does not address Israel’s sin or call the people back to God’s ways. Instead, he speaks from his own struggle to hold onto faith in a world filled with injustice and suffering. He asks,  How can I believe in a God of justice when there is so much injustice? So much violence? So much chaos?  Habakkuk prophesied aro

Gifts from Creator Tells the Good Story (Matthew) 28:18-20 (First Nations Version) It was now time for Creator Sets Free (Jesus) to return to the spirit-world above. It had now been forty days since he had come back to life again. So he gathered his followers, one last time, to give them their final instruction. 16 The remaining eleven of his followers journeyed to Circle of Nations (Galilee). There, at the mountain where Creator Sets Free (Jesus) had told them to go, they m

Two weeks ago, today, I was sitting in the pews of a very different church. The Feast of St. Francis at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine is a New York City icon. Thousands of people come from across all five boroughs and beyond to have their pets blessed in honor of Saint Francis, the patron saint of animals, and to experience all the wild joy of this spectacular event.  At the service’s midpoint, the crowd of nearly 3,000 people fell silent, eagerly awaiting what we’re a

A couple of years ago, I worked for a summer as a hospital chaplain in a very large, and very busy university hospital.  As I entered a patient’s room,  I would always get a flutter of nervousness—Is this the right room? What was their name? Their condition? Outside their door, I would silently prepare myself for whatever our conversation might hold.  On one particular visit, those butterflies followed me in. I’d been paged to this room—which usually meant the patient’s need

Well, folks. I’m glad to see you all here this morning. I was half-worried the sanctuary would be empty today… Turns out the rapture...

My husband worked for USAID for almost 30 years in Honduras, Panama, Pakistan, The Dominican Republic, and Ukraine. His career promoted...

Have you ever felt like a lost cause? I don’t ask that glibly or as a joke—I mean it sincerely. I wonder, have you ever felt like a lost...

Y’all, it has been a rough week.  If somehow you missed the news. Wednesday afternoon, 31-year-old Charlie Kirk, an ultra-right...

Several weeks ago, Donald J. Trump told the hosts of his favorite morning talk show, Fox and Friends, “ I want to try and get to heaven,...