Braving The Waters

 This past Thursday November 5th, was 10 years since I posted my very first blog here. I have been very sporadic in my writing. I have not gained a huge following and that is ok with me. I started this space as a space for me. A space to reflect, to share, to my own insight(often because it differs with where the congregation I am serving stands on some things). I do hope it is a space for those who follow and those who happen upon it, are able engage in some way. Even if that engagement is to say, "I don't agree".  As I continue on my journey of becoming a spiritual director, I hope this space will become one where people can spend time in their own reflection, meditation and prayer. I hope to offer more opportunity for anyone who reads this to engage in an active prayer life.  Here is a reflective vespers service I wrote for this year's Women's retreat for the Christian Church (DOC) in the Upper Midwest. This was a closing vespers service but could be used at an...

Good morning! It is not a secret that I am not exactly a morning person. I can get up in the morning and function it just takes me a little while to "be awake". There are a few things and a few times of year that are the "exception to the rule". -Any week that I am counselling or directing camp -Any time I am in WV/Pa visiting family and friends -Hospital or other morning visits with church members Recently I added meeting a friend for a morning walk 2-3 times a week. Today I am adding another. In September my spiritual direction certification classes started. Our entire scheduled was changed because of COVID and not being able to gather in the same space. So we met online and began to get to know each other. It is not easy to get to know people in this way, but it is slowly happening. Even though we didn't get to spend a concentrated week together, we are still connected. This group meetings monthly. early in the morning, on zoom. My Spiritual Direction Cohort...

Today began like any other day.  My alarm clock sounded and I hit snooze, twice.  Out of bed, dog out, breakfast made, coffee perking. In the back of my mind I know today is different than I thought it would be 9 months ago.  Today I should be boarding an airplane bound for Atlanta. I am not boarding an air plane, I am not headed to Atlanta.  Today I should be officially beginning my in person classes for Spiritual Direction Certification.  I am not meeting in person rather I am obsessively checking the zoom time so I don't miss it because of the time difference.  Today began like any other day, but today is different.  In one way or another we have all gone through significant changes since 2020 began. In one way or another our lives are different now than we thought they would be 9 months ago. It's perfectly acceptable to lament if things that were supposed to happen didn't, or didn't happen how you imagined. It's perfectly acceptable to rejoice if g...

Today I celebrate my 13th Anniversary of Ordained ministry!  There are days (a lot recently with COVID 19 pandemic protocols in place) that I feel like I am new to this whole ministry gig. Then there are days when I feel like I have it mostly figured out and things are moving in the right direction. It's probably, most years, a 60/40 split of feeling in control or spiraling out. The 60/40 split flip flops almost daily sometimes hourly.  Ministry is hard and challenging and life giving and beautiful. It is sorrowful and celebratory. Up, down, praise, lament, struggle, success, regret, and celebration, sounds like the Book of Psalms. So on this 13th Anniversary of my Ordination I thought I'd share a Psalm.  O Holy One, No one told me! No one told me that I'd have to be creative but also traditional,  That I'd have to think both inside and outside the box at the same time.  O Holy One, for those times that line between people loving the minister and people turning ...

I am an internal processor. I am a contemplative person who needs time to think before I speak. Unless we’ve been friends for more than a year, you probably think I don’t talk very much. My silence often gets me in trouble because my silence is often interpreted that I don’t care. One group has decided that I don’t care and therefore stand, complicit, with the oppressive force. Others think my silence means I am complacent and don’t care enough to even make a comment. The problem however is that I do care, it just takes me too long to get my thoughts together and by the time I have them ready, it’s too late. But it’s not too late. It is never too late to stand up against something that is wrong. It is never to late to stand up for something you believe in. Over the past week I have done a lot of reading, a lot of observing, a lot of praying, and a lot of weeping. Reading, observing, praying, weeping… Communities of color don’t need my tears, They don’t need me to stand to the side and ...