Active Bystander Training | Change should have come by now Hello Friend! I'm finishing up in Houston after three days of discussions about generational wealth in congregations. I'll have more to say on that! But first, a day of travel, of synthesizing, of airport food. I've only been gone from serving churches for three weeks and I already can think of things I should have done better! -Liz Help People Respond to Nay-Sayers I spoke at a Black Lives Matter protest in my town. My red town....
2 days ago • 4 min read
Federal Grants to Churches | Conference on Peace Israel/Palestine Friends, Today's lectionary brings up a horrible memory from when I was a kid which I describe below. My church was welcoming, loving, open for questions. My family was mission focused and loved to consider every possible meaning of a scripture. Those foundations gave me the strength to know that the movie we watched was wrong. Still, I was anxious into my forties when it seemed someone may have suddenly been whisked away in...
5 days ago • 3 min read
Feeding People | Five Loaves, Two Fish, Twelve Volunteers I'm still camping. Water aerobics in the lake, games with family, and sharing dinner! I cooked on Tuesday night, my brother is cooking tonight. Enjoy this post from February 10. -Liz Feeding People. Literally. If there is anything that churches know how to do well, it is to feed people. We do this well metaphorically, and we do this well literally. Today I want to talk about ways we can use our skill at feeding people to support the...
9 days ago • 2 min read
Resisting Genocide | Resisting Anti-Semitism Yesterday was my first Sunday as "not a pastor of a congregation." Not sure yet how that feels! But we are camping in Vermont with my family, and that fees really good. Last week's post brought up many responses, including from my dad and mom who grew up with the anxiety produced by World War II. That reminded me of standing in the hallway with our hands on our necks as protection from a nuclear attack and the fear of violence during the civil...
12 days ago • 4 min read
Greed | Churches' Alternative to Pay Day Lending I had my last Sunday at the Small Church Collaborative in Ashburnham, MA and Rindge NH yesterday. It is bittersweet--they are both wonderful churches and I am sorry to leave them. And I am excited for my new role as Coordinator of Community Life at Episcopal Divinity School. I have two weeks off and then get started on August 11. -Liz Follow the Money I've been limiting my discussions to what I see as Christian concerns--care of our neighbors....
19 days ago • 3 min read
Civic Discipleship | Action is Prayer My ankle is not broken--sort of. I have a large bone spur and that is what broke, leaving three small pieces there to increase inflammation. So I'm learning how to walk on crutches! Water aerobics are fine, but all the rest of my exercise program is out. -Liz Prayers of the People Open Door United Methodist Church in Richmond, California, is a praying congregation. Prayer there is the typical thing--close your eyes, fold your hands--it is also the actions...
23 days ago • 4 min read
Music | Art | Prayer Well I missed a step in the stairs, going from my bedroom to my living room, on Saturday night. Slammed my ankle onto the floor and crashed into the dining room table. So as I sit with my foot up and ice on my ankle, wrist, and chest, I contemplate how to be a protestor that can't stand around. I'm thinking about making space for myself to pray. Be the Church in Prayer Prayer is an important part of protest. I am often frustrated by the way prayer is offered as an...
26 days ago • 2 min read
Creative Forms of Protest | Photography I'm at music camp and taking a course on songs for the justice and peace. They are really hard to write! If we pull it off (the group is writing a song together) I'll let you know. In the meantime, resistance is about all the arts. Painting, photography, acting, dance, music, and more. We must involve our whole selves. -Liz Photography and Resistance On our free day in Edinburgh Ken and I went to the National Museum of Scotland: Modern Two to see the...
30 days ago • 3 min read
Balancing Reflection and Action | Song: Chop Wood, Carry Water I'm at music camp this week. Performing music is not my gift, but I love to sing, love to listen, and love to support my husband who is a musician. One of the things I do at camp is take songwriting classes and use the time to hone my skills. Songs require a story to be told succinctly, and to involve all of our senses. Songs encourage me to find the poetic language for my prose writing. I love the challenge to use my existing...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read