On Feb 17, 2012 ⋅ No comments
Today, my church, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), has the opportunity to join in this response to the loving spirit that is touching hearts across our land. In San Antonio, Texas, the highest court in the 3-tiered judicial system of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is hearing an appeal of a conviction against the Rev. Dr. Janie Spahr.
On Feb 10, 2012 ⋅ 6 comments
On what grounds do I stay to love and serve God in Christ in the PCUSA? I rest upon Paul’s appeal for unity in his letter to the Ephesians as a crucial pillar supporting my commitment to the Presbyterian Church.
On Jan 12, 2012 ⋅ 28 comments
Next week, the Fellowship of Presbyterians will once again gather – this time in Orlando, Florida. According to the Presbyterian Outlook, one big area of discussion will be two documents that were drafted since their last convening; one on theology and one on polity. I offer three thoughts to consider and invite further comments from all my theological friends.
On Jan 12, 2012 ⋅ No comments
Next week, the Fellowship of Presbyterians will once again gather – this time in Orlando, Florida. According to the Presbyterian Outlook, one big area of discussion will be two documents that were drafted since their last convening; one on theology and one on polity. I offer three thoughts to consider and invite further comments from all my theological friends.
On Dec 2, 2011 ⋅ 2 comments
I am very grateful for the spiritual discipline of daily Bible reading which gives me the opportunity to return to stories like the Tower of Babel and bring my adult sense to bear on its meaning. The lesson I draw from it now is different from my Sunday school days.
On Nov 4, 2011 ⋅ 19 comments
Last week, I stood for a morning with Occupy Wall Street. Directed to the cardboard mound, I chose an extra large pizza box (there were a lot of them) and got help to find a big marker. I made my sign: “I AM in the 1% PLEASE TAX ME!”
On Sep 30, 2011 ⋅ 7 comments
As I recently marked the 34th anniversary of my being ordained to the office of pastor in the Presbyterian Church (USA), I can say that I have witnessed my fair share of troubles in the church. All of this has prompted, from me, this meditation upon Christian love, informed by Paul’s reflections.
On Sep 23, 2011 ⋅ 25 comments
In my 30 years as an advocate for God’s love for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, I’ve had countless conversations with those who think differently from me about God, Scripture and the place of LGBT faithful in the church. Today, I share with you the five questions I most commonly hear, as well as my answers to them.
On Aug 19, 2011 ⋅ 4 comments
A few months ago, President Jimmy Carter took religion to task for contributing to discrimination against women around the world. From my perspective, President Carter’s comments definitely struck home. But it led me to also ask the question: What does religion, and specifically my faith, Christianity, really have to say about gender?
On Jul 29, 2011 ⋅ 7 comments
We all have passages in Scripture that rise to the top for us and become a personal sacred canon within the communal sacred canon of the Bible. Parts of 1 John 3—a chapter in the first of three letters ascribed to the evangelist, John, and directed to Christian communities steeped in the perspective of the Gospel of John—have been in my personal canon since I was a teenager.
