If God’s name is love, then God compels us to resist the fall to sinful violence by pushing back with muscular resolve against the social structures that confine our capacity to care. A universalist God for a tragic era is not a gauzy, hymn-singing force of personal devotion that draws us...

This is the beauty and sparkle of spiritual communities: needs arise and beloveds appear to ask, “How can I help?” There’s no fixed timeline, just the spiritual practices of generosity and stewardship.

Today I’m going to tell a story about a girl who was searching for a porpoise. Now, as you probably know, a porpoise is a sea mammal in the dolphin family. Porpoises are smaller and shyer than dolphins. They are more difficult to find, but porpoises are very important. Minister (or other Worship...

We are the ones we have been waiting for.* We are not perfect, but we are perfectly fitted for this day. We are not without fault, but we can be honest to face our past as we chart a new future. We are the ones we have been waiting for....

Do not be alone right now. Gather together. Gathering together grows courage: in ourselves and in others who see the numbers swelling. It is a small thing, but right now it is an important thing....

Prayer of Thanks for Hoes & Scythes & Spatulas & Toothbrushes & Binoculars & the Myriad Other Tools & Instruments That Fit Our Hands So Gracefully & Allow Us to Work with a Semblance of Deftitude Lovely little inventions, just right for the job at hand—a lawn edger, for example, or an arrow, or...

The ritual of welcoming and honoring ancestors is an ancient spiritual practice found in many cultures and traditions. Thus we begin this ceremony with paying tribute and expressing gratitude to our ancestors. From our histories our ancestors call to us, asking “whence we come, and how and...

When we light our chalice everyone focuses on the flame. Yet it is the paraffin of the candle, the cotton of the wick, the potassium chlorate and sulfur of the match, and the oxygen in the air around us that makes that flame possible. As leaders we are not called to be a lone beacon on a hill.

As we approach our agenda let us remember that we are doing the work of the congregation.* When we do the work of this congregation*, we touch lives. When we touch lives, we change the world. May this chalice flame we now kindle remind us throughout our meeting of our ministry and our mission....

Reader 1: The word courage comes from the Latin cor, which means heart. According to poet Mark Nepo, the original use of the word courage meant to stand by one’s core: a “striking concept that reinforces the belief found in almost all traditions that living from the Center is what enables us to...

I have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way. But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, To steal a view of the glorious...

Ever since I graduated from college, I have had a recurring dream. My wife has had it, too, as well as a lot of other people I know. In my dream, it is time to take an exam and I am unprepared. I have not gone to classes all semester. I failed to do the reading....

I am frequently astonished by monarch butterflies. Delicate beyond belief, they fly thousands of miles each year from all parts of the continent to settle in the forests of South America. To my delight, their migratory route takes them along a bridge near my home. A few days ago, I was driving on...

Now is the time to call on the memories of the ancestors who thought they ­could not walk another step ­toward freedom—and yet they did. It is that time and place to call on the memories of the ancestors who, when the darkness of their lives threatened to take away the hope and light, reached a...

(This was written for the opening worship at a district board retreat....

After the words, a quiet; after the songs, a silence; after the crowd only the memory recalls the gathering. Peace and justice have need of you after the words, the music, and the gathering. God grant you the depth for dedication to justice. God grant you the will to be an apostle of peace. Amen.