One day last week, my friend Rachel texted me. “You wanna write a college beatitudes with me?” In addition to loving mountains, dog videos, and the color mustard yellow, Rachel and I both pastor with college students. And so, over the course of a lot of coffee drinking, food eating, and Bible studying, we find ourselves witnessing the good, the bad, and the somewheres-in-the-middle of being a young adult student in these sometimes strange times. Here’s our best shot and describing how God meets us in the middle of it all.
Continue reading “The Beatitudes Go to College”
Prayed during a workshop on mixed media spiritual expression; Batesville, MS, May 2018.
Creating God,
Just as you speak to us through many voices in Scripture, you speak to us through countless artists of the past, present, and future. May we meet you in paint brushes, pianos, and pieced-together quilts.
When things get messy, help us remember that so are ceramics. And still you’re a potter, gently shaping the soft lines of our bodies and our hearts even when things feel ready to crumble.
Give us courage to shake off the dust of our own expectations, that we might see and hear you in new ways, and through the work of your Spirit help others to do the same. Amen.
A communal prayer of confession prayed at Campamento El Guacio with Young Adult Volunteer alums; San Sebastián, Puerto Rico, December 2018.
Prayed at First Presbyterian Church; Oxford, MS, December 2018.
Intercessory prayer for the beginning of Advent, prayed at First Presbyterian Church; Oxford, MS, December 2018.
Continue reading “Prayers of the People: Waiting”
A sermon on Ephesians 4:1-16 preached at First Presbyterian Church; Greenville, MS, August 2018. Continue reading “A Life Worthy”
A sermon on Ephesians 2:11-22 preached at Batesville Presbyterian Church; Batesville, MS, July 2018.
Written for the Presbytery of St. Andrew’s first annual UKirk* Sunday; Oxford, MS, April 2018.
I’m part of a few different online groups made up of assorted church-leader-types, and every year around this time, the topic of Mother’s Day comes up. What do we do, we who use our voices in pulpits and lecterns? Especially in Southern contexts like mine, it’s pretty hard to just ignore it at Sunday worship. On the other hand, it’s not a religious holiday, and focusing on it can cause people a lot of pain.
Full disclosure: personally, I am lucky to have a good relationship with a mom who is still around. I don’t want kids right now, so not having them is not a source of grief for me.
But being a person is complicated. Shouldn’t we pray like it?
Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession prayed at First Presbyterian Church; Oxford, MS, May 2018. Continue reading “A Prayer for Mother’s Day”
Girl & Glue Stick 