On Monday I began to pre-record the worship service for a neighboring church. I set up my camera indoors with daylight not too bright, not too shadowy. I cleared clutter so my background did not distract from the prayers. I adjusted the height, angle and frame of the camera lens. I plugged in my microphone […]
St. Anne’s church was packed with people on Wednesday evening. The funeral home invited them; all the families who had suffered a death this year. There was a priest and an AME Zion church pastor and me, all leading worship together. I told the story about Emma’s gift. There is a part of the story […]
I sat on a hard white pew the evening of Maundy Thursday, large shutters of the clear glass windows closed against the street lights. We huddled together in a dim, candlelit sanctuary; choir, congregation, scripture readers, and the pastor who led us through the story drawn from all four Gospels about the crucifixion of Jesus […]
If only we could learn the causes of violence. In a recent column Motive of destruction, (Boston Globe 1/8/14) Daniel Benjamin writes about terrorism, bombings and mass shootings. It now appears that the Boston marathon was not an organized act of terrorism, but rather the work of a mentally unstable young man and his brother. […]
One… What to buy to surprise your child? What to purchase to surprise your spouse? What to wrap to surprise your parents? We shop and plan and bake and wrap. Searching for that perfect gift that our friend both wants and will be surprised to receive, we hunt through malls, pore through catalogues, and listen […]
Seven sons of Sceva, charlatons of the first century in Palestine, put on healing shows. (See Acts 19:11-20) Yes, snake oil salesmen and magicians fool generations in every century. But a fascinating detail in the biblical story claims that the demon recognizes the powerful name of Jesus but does not know the clowns who invoke […]
At worship last Sunday at Worcester Fellowship, an outdoor ministry with folks who are homeless or at-risk of becoming homeless, the pastor welcomed people for a prayer of blessing and a laying on of hands. Her question was whether anyone had an anniversary to celebrate – being free of drugs or alcohol or violence. One […]
Rushing, I thought I was late. I had robe in hand but knew that clergy needed to arrive 20 minutes early to a pastor’s installation to be ready to robe and process and it was only 10 minutes before the hour. Fortunately, a member of the church was greeting people at the door. “Is it […]