Archive for the ‘Bible’ Category
Sermon Sapling: Advent 3A, Praying for Joy
Posted by: revjmk on: December 7, 2010
- In: Bible | Sermon | Sermon Sapling
- 1 Comment
Highlighted Passage: Isaiah 35:1-10 I am struck in my initial reading by the audience for this passage from Isaiah. The prophet is declaring joy and courage and gladness, but for whom? For the wilderness, the dry lands, the weak hands, the feeble knees, the fearful hearts. Those are the places and peoples that probably need [...]
Sermon Sapling: Advent 2, Praying with Hope
Posted by: revjmk on: December 1, 2010
Highlighted passage: Romans 15:4-13 This week is all about hope, a word that has endured a lot of attention in recent years. When the Obama campaign used “Hope” as its campaign theme in 2008, those who supported the campaign rallied around hope as our solution and salvation—even when the campaign never clearly defined what we [...]
What to do about Adult Christian Education? Part II
Posted by: revjmk on: October 28, 2010
- In: Bible | Ministry Moments
- 2 Comments
Part II: Other Reasons for Struggling Christian Education, and a Imagining a Different Way This is part II of a discussion of adult Christian education, particularly the problem of low attendance. It originates in response to this post from Jan Edmiston at A Church for Starving Artists, and begins with Part I: Is Christian Education [...]
What to do about Adult Christian Education? Part I
Posted by: revjmk on: October 26, 2010
- In: Bible | Ministry Moments
- 7 Comments
Last week, Jan Edmiston, over on her wonderful blog A Church for Starving Artists, wrote about the challenge of low attendance at worship and other church events. She discussed adult Christian education as one of the chief places where church’s struggle with low attendance, and speculates about why. I have been thinking a lot about [...]
Decentering the Cross
Posted by: revjmk on: July 20, 2010
- In: Bible
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The First Christian Church in Columbus, Indiana is an imposing edifice of concrete block, one of the first churches in the country designed with contemporary architecture. Like most churches, the front is adorned with an enormous cross, the dominant symbol of Christianity and the central fixture of many Christian churches. What is unique about the [...]
Book Review: An American Gospel
Posted by: revjmk on: July 18, 2010
- In: Bible | Book Reviews
- 1 Comment
An American Gospel: On Family, History and the Kingdom of God, by Erik Reece, Riverhead Books, 2009, 224 pages. I read this book on the recommendation of a church member currently seeking a new path back to faith after a tragic loss. He said it had spoken to him of a different kind of faith, [...]
Symbiogenesis
Posted by: revjmk on: July 15, 2010
I have just encountered the work of Dr. Lynn Margulis for the first time. She is an evolutionary biologist with two revolutionary contributions. First, she grounds her evolutionary theory in microbiological observation rather than observation of animals or fossils. I have no theological quandary with the theory of evolution, but much of evolutionary science seems [...]
Welcome Home, Nomar Garciaparra
Posted by: revjmk on: March 10, 2010
- In: Bible | Sports
- 4 Comments
Thanks for taking us back, Nomar. Red Sox Nation never stopped loving you. We mourned when you got traded. We wanted you to get a World Series ring. We followed your career, injury after injury, and wished life was different. Yet in the end, in spite of being let go and left out by the [...]
Life Behind the Lens—or the Blog
Posted by: revjmk on: March 6, 2010
- In: Bible | Deep Thoughts | Ministry Moments
- 1 Comment
I had the opportunity to hear a colleague preach this week at an ecumenical Lenten service. He was preaching on the story of the Transfiguration, and Peter’s desire to capture the experience of being on the mountaintop to remember and return to it forever. He opened his reflections with a story about using a camcorder to [...]
About Me
I am a full-time pastor in the United Church of Christ, mother of a preschooler (B.), married to an aspiring academic and curmudgeon (J.). I live by faith, intuition and intellect. I follow politics, football and the Boston Red Sox. I like to talk about progressive issues, theological concerns, church life, the impact of technology and media, pop culture and books.
- Aleada SIragusa: I am a member of United Church of Christ also. One of our pastors, Rev Victoria Long is also a woman. I am on the net searching for photographs I may
- Samantha R.: Hello, I work with a publication called The Traveler's Friend. We are a coupon book for hotels. I was wondering if I could get your permission to use
- Marilyn Holt: Thank you for your inspiring comments on the disaster in your neighborhood and the uplifting section from your sermon. This entry in your blog is maki
