In Thirst: Poems by Mary Oliver, we find one of Oliver’s most well-known poems—a reflection on prayer. As always, she has a way of capturing the truth in such a succinct and beautiful way. It doesn’t have to be the blue iris, it could be weeds in a vacant lot, or a few small stones; just pay…

Above is a link to the video that was our Musical Meditation on Sunday. I came across this song several weeks ago when the great poet and essayist Parker Palmer posted it to promote Carrie Newcomer’s new album Until Now, that comes out today. According to her website, this album “explores the process of unraveling…

Coming from a blue collar family, I know outsourcing can be a bad word when it means the loss of American jobs to other countries with unjust labor costs. That’s not how I’m using here. At its most basic level, outsourcing is about shifting the responsibility of some part of a process from one entity to another.…

Earlier this week, I was basking/sweating in the sun at Wheaton College’s annual Church Fair. This is when the college invites local churches to come and help students start to find a church home while they’re at college. I had some really nice conversations with a few students, but there was one moment in particular that stuck…

Yesterday was the eighth anniversary of my ordination. On August 11, 2013 surrounded by friends, family, and colleagues, I was ordained by the First Baptist Church of Chicago in Hyde Park. The picture above is of me receiving the charge to the ordinate candidate. I’m wearing the robe my parents bought for me as a graduation…

This is another Olympics post. As I said last week, I haven’t watched a whole lot of the Olympics, but a few stories have come across my newsfeed. Last week I was struck by Simone Biles’ experience of the dangerous and heartbreaking “Twisties.” This week I was charmed by the darling and heartwarming story of Tom Daley’s case of…

I haven’t been watching much of the Olympics, but it was hard to miss the news about Simone Biles withdrawing from the gymnastic competition this week. Social media was ablaze with both support and condemnation of her decision to take a step back after a shaky performance on the vault. While the cause wasn’t a physical injury,…

I kept waiting for the Spirit to speak. I kept waiting for her to prompt some semi-coherent ramblings that might speak to something going on with you. I even gave her some extra time, but nothing came. So rather than trying to fill this space with something else, I decided to intentionally leave it blank—blank but not…

So here are a few things I read this past week that have been bouncing around in my head. Feel free to click on the links if you want to read the articles so your own thoughts can bounce around with mine. ITEM 1: Last week, the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) published its 2020 Census of…

In honor of the 4th of July, I thought it would be fun to include a Religious Freedom Quiz I put together a few years ago. See if you know the difference between fact and fiction when it comes to the history and understanding of religious freedom in the United States. In Love, Pastor Annette…