An episode in season 1 of Modern Family includes a story line about Cam's desperate attempt to make friends with Gloria, the Colombian--and nontraditional--stepmother of his partner Mitchell. A series of shots shows various past scenes in which Cam inadvertently insults Gloria (one includes Cam criticizing a friend who went to Columbia University, which Gloria …
Author: Jennifer
What I’m Into (October 2013)
My kids put on their winter coats and hats last week for the first time this fall. Last spring, once it was finally warm enough to quit wearing winter gear, I abandoned it with gusto, leaving receipts in the pockets and not bothering to dry clean or wash anything. And yet winter returns, and with …
Solitude and Cookies
During Girl Scout cookie season, I like to quietly buy an extra box of Thin Mints. I place it in the freezer behind the hot dogs, tator tots, frozen vegetables and stale loaves of bread. That box of cookies belongs to me—not my husband, not my children, not my dog—me. I don’t think about that …
The Power of Apology Part II
I preached a sermon in June about the power of apology—not the defense of Christian faith kind of apology but the gut-wrenching admission of fault we all know too well. At the end of my sermon, I asked the congregation to think of someone or some situation in need of an apology in their lives. …
Prayers for Reconciliation and Grace
I’ve been struggling to form a post about the recent court case in Florida. I don’t know the details of what happened between Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman that night. I don’t know what was said in the courtroom that led to the decision of the jury. I’m keenly aware of my removal from these …
Sermon for Annika
Sermon for 7-14-13 Text: Luke 10:25-37 Dear Annika, Welcome to the world and to the waters of baptism. Today promises to be a hot summer day and we’re enjoying a stretch of beautiful sunny weather after a long, cold, wet spring. It's so good to celebrate your baptism today. Today’s gospel lesson is a …
My Daily Books
All I’ve wanted to do lately is read. I find myself stopping at the library with armloads of books at least once a week—last Friday I realized I may have a problem when I checked out 14 books even though I still had plenty at home. (Many of those books were for my kids, but …
Friday Five: Tuesday Edition
I'm late to play the RevGalBlogPals Friday Five from last week. So here is my Tuesday edition:Whoosh! My calendar is packed. And June is almost gone! There's the old saying, "Bad luck comes in threes" but I've decided that "Busy-ness comes in fives!" So this week we'll take things five-at-a-time. Tell me:1. Five flowers you'd …
Do Something
Sometimes I get so caught up in the business of being church I forget the Spirit actually moves in this place. I read articles about how God is acting outside the church and we need to escape our walls but sometimes I see God moving right here, in this building, in this congregation. I get …
Sermon for Lauren
I thank David Lose at Working Preacher, as is so often the case, for the inspiration for this sermon.Text: Luke 8:26-39Dear Lauren,Today is God’s good day.A good day to baptize you.Unconditional love, declared for youGod crossed all boundaries to make this day happenTo call you Lauren, my child, belovedYou are MineGod made you, Lauren LynAnd …
Narrating Grace 