Seeking Authentic Voice

The summer was long, hot, and full of discouragement from one thing and another. All typical work-a-day stuff for a relatively new clergy woman trying to find her way through the early years of her vocation. Part of that summer was spent interviewing for a position I felt was perfect for me - a place full of creativity with an emphasis on social justice. Alas, the job was not to be mine. That reality left me feeling bleak and lost. One day I buried myself in the recent edition of Christian Century magazine, hoping to find inspiration. Little did I know that what I found, and read, would irrevocably alter the course of my life. Thumbing through the pages I stumbled upon an article about a group of women clergy who formed an on-line group of bloggers called the RevGalBlogPals. I was a relative novice to the internet and had never even heard of blogging. That fact did not stop me. Immediately upon finishing the article I picked up my laptop and set about creating a blog. It was relative...

One day, a little over fifteen years ago, I went to the pet store for a bag of cat food. This particular pet store always had the cutest puppies and kittens, all hand raised from local families. My six year old son was with me - he loved the lizards. That day I was completely taken by a little eight week old puppy. I had no intention, absolutely no intention of getting a dog. A few months earlier I had put down another dog, our beloved Bingo, a stray who found us some eight years earlier. I intended to be a dogless family, just cats. But then this puppy, with big brown eyes looked at me. And melted my heart. I promptly left the store, minus cat food, but with son in hand. I called my husband and asked him to run over to the pet store and check out the puppy. I told him I'd get the kids and join him later, but he was to ponder whether or not we wanted this puppy. We'd decide when I joined him. I collected both kids and slowly made my way back to the store. There I found my hus...

There is a theme that runs through our reading today from 2 Kings and the Gospel of Luke which is, are we able to see God’s action in the world around us? And if so, are we willing and able to be participants in God’s action? In the 2 Kings text this idea plays out through the famous story of Elijah and Elisha. Elijah’s time on earth has come to an end. Elisha wants to take over, take the mantle from Elijah, and continue with the prophets ministry of pointing the people to see God in the world. Elijah tells Elisha that in order for him to do this he must first prove that he can in fact see God action as witnessed by the amazing ascent of Elijah into heaven on a chariot with rivers of fire all around him. Elisha is able to see the ascension of Elijah and so picks up Elijah’s mantle, his cloak, and carry on the prophet’s ministry with the Hebrew people.  The problem for us in this day and age is we seldom recognize God’s action in the world around us as actually coming from ...

Our retreat with Jane Redmont “SoelleSummer” is now in its second week. We are reading and learning much about the complex reality that formed and informed Dorothee Soelle (pronounced ZUH-lah with “u” pronounced as in “duh”). Soelle, paraphrased from her book, “Creative Disobedience”: A theological lexicon of the 1950s speaks of obedience as the "central point and key thought of the entire Christian message." Of course the meaning here is theological, that is, obedience in relationship to God. For centuries the notion of what a good Christian ought to be was shaped by this virtue. But it has its sociological and psychological consequences. What does it mean when obedience is given the central position? What are the social implications of such a theology? Jane summarizes the characteristics Soelle offers regarding the “ Tradition of obedience”: Blind obedience in which people surrender their reason and conscience to someone else is not limited to spec...

Another beautiful day. I was with a group of new clergy colleagues whom I am slowly coming to know. The sun spackled trees and lawn revealed birds and flowers, soaking up every little bit of warmth they could. When spring first arrived, and the trees were filled with their floral bouquets, I hoped for a pleasant summer of just enough sun and warmth.  Not like last summer, when the relentless heat and rainless days burned through the crops in my little garden. The early spring hinted of this possibility. It was a long, lingering spring for this region, over a month the trees and flowers held their blossoms. Then, they submitted to a late season frost, three nights in a row, followed by days and days of heavy rain. Summer has now arrived, the solstice less than a week ago. And with summer, a sudden thrust of intense heat and humidity. With this heat come a string of heavy rain storms, popping up unexpectedly, the risk of tornadoes is a constant threat. Bu...

This morning dawned bright and sunny, a welcome relief from the seemingly endless rain that is defining this late spring and early summer season in SE Michigan. I do love cloudy, rainy days and take them as an invitation to read, reflect, and do interior work both within me and within my home or the church. However I have a vested interest right now in balancing this rain with sun and warmth: walking to yoga and nurturing my baby vegetable garden. Walking to yoga is one of my CREDO II "Rule of Life" practices. Five times a week, sometimes more, I rise early and walk to an early morning yoga class. Sometimes the first class is at 7am but on Saturday it is 8am and on Monday, my day off, I usually take the 9:30 class. The walk is only fifteen minutes each way, not far. It is a lovely walk through quiet tree-lined neighborhoods. Walking is an intentional decision.  I could ride my bike or drive the car. I do love to ride my bike and on hot summer mornings it is one of my fa...

I've been thinking. That may sound like an odd phrase. One is always thinking. At the end of yoga class we are invited to lay quietly in "relaxation" and then to sit quietly in "meditation." All the while as I am relaxing or meditating my brain is racing with thoughts, random tidbits of life dribble through. I have meditated long enough that I do not follow these thoughts, they filter through like the background noise of television in another room. Then there is intentional thinking. Like when one is trying to formulate a response to some situation. Or, when one is writing a paper on an important topic. As a priest with a Masters in Social Work and as a person whose life experience has encouraged a lot of professional psychological therapy sessions I am always thinking about what I say and how I behave. I like to think I am a Reflective Practitioner . image from here All these years of work through therapy and seminary and the graduate school of socia...