I love poetry. Recently I have been reminded of this from a range of sources, and I am enjoying the recovery of this part of who I am. A few weeks ago, Doug was sitting on the futon piecing together worship songs and powerpoint slides while I sat at my computer trying to find a… Continue reading Alessandra
Category: Church
Thirteen
Thirteen people were murdered this weekend in Los Angeles (the L.A. Times offers details on eleven of the slayings). We have all noticed an increase in activity lately in our neighborhood: sirens, screaming, the pounding of helicopters that hardly ceases…”Do you know what was going on last night?” is a common question between neighbors. Meanwhile… Continue reading Thirteen
An alternative
My friend, Jamie, tagged me with a meme he is starting. Reflecting on a quote from St. Francis he writes: “The life of the Christian should be burning with such a light of holiness that by their very example and conduct, their life will be a rebuke to the wicked.” (St. Francis) In an era… Continue reading An alternative
A Grave not forgotten
I read something today on my denomination’s website that moved me. While I have been concerned by the ways short-term international trips have largely replaced local ministry involvement at my alma mater in terms of student enthusiasm and commitment (After Hours, the local outreach I founded at NPU was recently closed down due to a… Continue reading A Grave not forgotten
A cry for renewal
Last Thursday, one of our very close friends here was robbed on the street. She has a baby the same age as Elijah and she was pushing him along in his stroller when two men ran up from behind and grabbed her purse off her arm, tipping the stroller over in the process. Thankfully, baby… Continue reading A cry for renewal
Where we dwell
I spent Sunday’s worship service helping out in the nursery. At one point, we headed outside to let the kids play on the playground and I stayed in the covered area with Elijah. It was an unusual worship service that focused on prayer, and a few youth had opted to hang out in the back… Continue reading Where we dwell
A good conversation
This past week, Doug wrote a guest post here that received extensive comments resulting in a quality dialogue about the identity of the church. I thought I would post a few excerpts here: I think the concept of outreach versus inreach itself strikes a dissonant chord in me. When I read through the gospels, I… Continue reading A good conversation
Are we willing to spit it out?
We were somewhere recently when I had Elijah with me and I was trying to keep him happy and had given him his pacifier which is normally reserved for naps and bedtime. He kept taking it out of his mouth and playing with it, so I decided to try giving him some Cheerios instead. As… Continue reading Are we willing to spit it out?
For fun
My friend Tyler linked to this amusing piece for a Friday morning titled: Ten Reasons Why Men Should Not Be Ordained For Ministry 10. A man’s place is in the army. 9. The pastoral duties of men who have children might distract them from the responsibility of being a parent. 8. The physique of men… Continue reading For fun
The power of the unseen
The other night I went to take the trash out down the two flights of stairs behind our house to the big cans out back. The kitchen trash was very full: it should have been taken out days earlier and I could barely lift the plastic handled bag out from the trash can. As I… Continue reading The power of the unseen