It’s been 30 years. I’ve served First Christian Church of Pomona for more than half my life as associate pastor, acting pastor, senior pastor, pastor. I have little stickers a friend gave to me close to 30 years ago that read “There’s nothing sinister about a woman minister.” My husband
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More than 800 people who were unsheltered died on the streets of Los Angeles County last year. There is a deeply held assumption that people living on the streets “choose” to live there. Do they choose also to die there? Two unsheltered people died near our church. The people we
Continue reading~Whose Skin Am I In?~ Christians consider Jesus to be the incarnation of God: the embodiment of God. Some Christians are so bold to consider the invitation of Jesus to “come and follow me” as an invitation to allow our lives, even our very bodies to embody God. Jesus’ coming
Continue readingAll of us from time to time, seek the advice of a trusted friend, a doctor, a lawyer, even a pastor. What about the Holy Spirit? Have you ever considered seeking the advice of God? Sure, we pray, but do we ever really get a direct answer? Unlike seeking the
Continue reading~Church Geek~ It was the first full day of my time in Cambridge, Massachusetts. I couldn’t wait to get to Morning Prayers at Memorial Church at Harvard. I was also invited by my dear friend Emily, to attend a preaching competition at Harvard Divinity School that began at noon. Admittedly,
Continue reading~Remembering What I Did Know~ I was on the cusp of being 8 years old the day Dr. King was assassinated. It wasn’t talked about in our home that I recall. It wasn’t a topic of conversation. I did not know until much later in life that “Just weeks before .
Continue reading~Purpose of the Church – Part 2~ Four weeks ago during worship, I asked those present to finish this prompt: The purpose of the church is… and my part in its…. In this Caller, I present the rest of those responses. There are some overarching themes: radical welcome, sharing God’s love
Continue readingLast Sunday I asked the gathered community to finish this prompt: “The purpose of the church is….and my part in it is….” Thank you to everyone who thought about this and who wrote something. Over the next few Caller issues, I’ll be sharing all of them without reference to who
Continue readingLearning from suffering… Everyone suffers. This is part of the human condition. Why is it then we seek to distract ourselves from it, run from it, eliminate it? It is impossible to eliminate suffering. I recently heard a young woman reflect on the need for Christians “to learn to suffer
Continue readingThere is a practice among Christians during the season of Lent. That practice is to “give something up”. The practice is ostensibly for the purpose of appreciating in some small way the suffering of Jesus. How about we flip that practice and all of the underlying assumptions it perpetuates? Everyone
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