As much as I don’t want to admit it, I have politics on the brain. It’s hard to keep myself away from the constant coverage of the big party conventions. Yet politics is not my favorite pastime. I’ve been turning MPR off because the unending political talk is exhausting. I find politics boring, frustrating and …
Author: Jennifer
Two Funerals and a Dog
Last week I officiated at two separate funerals (one for a dear co-worker) and I lost my beloved dog. It’s been a week of feeling vulnerable, trying to wrap my mind around how fast life can change, and absorbing the permanence of death. It’s been a long few days but they have not only been …
Beginning and End
My Tuesday morning last week was one of the countless reasons I love being a pastor serving a small(ish) congregation:At 10am, I officiated at the burial of a 97-year-old woman. There were six people in attendance. Four of them were part of a family who were her next door neighbors and took care of her for …
Happy Church
I’ve been seeing the idea of gratitude everywhere for a few years (if not more). We’re told naming three things we are grateful for each day will improve our blood pressure and mental well-being. We’re told that positive people are more successful. Looking at life from the perspective of gratefulness seems to be a big …
In Which I Cried in Worship…Again
I was never a crier. I didn’t even cry at my own wedding. I’m not sure what has happened to me in the past few years, but I find myself crying much more often than I used to. I also tend to cry in public places, which is quite a challenge for me (a hilarious …
Secrets
I often think of myself as the secret-keeper. This was especially true when I was a pastor in a rural town. I was usually the first place people would look for financial, spiritual and therapeutic help because it wasn’t readily available in their small town (I say first step because I often did—and still do—refer people on …
Our Own Story
Last Sunday I chased my 2-year-old daughter around the church after worship. She ran with the abandon of a toddler set free—up and down the halls, around the kitchen and fellowship hall, belly laughing while I tried to keep up with her in my heels. People stopped me to chat or give me reservation forms—the …
The Collar
I don’t wear my clergy collar very often. I only own one plain white clergy shirt and it’s usually wrinkled (and why do clergy shirts get such a bad ring around the collar?). I don’t like feeling set apart from the congregation. I perceive people acting stiffly around me and—the worst—making uncomfortable jokes about how …
The Woman Pastor
I don't often talk about my views on women in the church. My opinion is obvious when I stand in front of a congregation in a stole and preach a sermon. I don't know why I tend to keep quiet about it. Maybe it's because I'm so fortunate to be in a denomination that has …
Worship and The Pastor
Last week I attended The Festival of Homiletics in Atlanta, an annual national preaching conference. There were 2,000 people in attendance, many (if not most) of them pastors. It was an incredible and inspiring event. I heard nationally-known pastors, preachers, homiletics teachers, civil rights leaders and musicians. I felt as if a long-dry cup was finally getting …
Narrating Grace 