On Dec 21, 2015 ⋅ 2 comments
Merry Christmas to you! My deep Christmas wish is the same one expressed in the spring this year through the website Harmony In Church, a resource created to help Christians live together in harmony when we disagree on some things. Perhaps you remember that effort. When I looked back at Christmas reflections from years past, […]
On Sep 4, 2015 ⋅ 9 comments
Over many years, I have been in an on-again, off-again conversation online with a conservative Presbyterian named Joe. As long as I have known him, Joe has been lobbying for his congregation to leave my church, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)—to forsake the mainline for a more clearly conservative Presbyterian denomination. Joe insists that the days […]
On Aug 14, 2015 ⋅ One comment
I recently presided at the wedding of two wonderful young men, and at that wedding, I had the opportunity to speak with the father of one of the grooms. He gracefully shared with me his struggle to rethink his stance toward LGBT people while also maintaining trust in the sturdiness of his faith’s foundations. After […]
On Jun 18, 2015 ⋅ No comments
It has been some weeks now since 14F passed in the Pittsburgh Presbytery. I confess that that day, and the many leading up to it, have been a blur. I can hardly believe how far we have come as a community. And I cannot help but pray in thanks for the evidence that more and […]
On Mar 23, 2015 ⋅ 6 comments
Last week, my church, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), reached a historic moment. Ten years after being put on trial by my church for presiding over the wedding of two women, I witnessed that same church embrace LGBT people and their families by affirming marriage as a “unique commitment between two people.” Though I am still […]
On Dec 23, 2014 ⋅ 2 comments
Dear friends in cyberspace, I write to let you know I am on the brink of a new approach to winter for myself: I am going to be still from Christmas to Easter this year. Well, almost still. With a few exceptions, I am going to hibernate this winter, something I have never done before. […]
On Dec 22, 2014 ⋅ No comments
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A) continues to engage in discussion and debate over marriage amendment 14F, seeking ways to common ground and gracious space. Might we already have a viable way forward? My volunteer work with other Presbyterians in New Orleans under the auspices of Presbyterian Disaster Assistance showed me how shared service can bring our […]
On Dec 5, 2014 ⋅ No comments
As presbyteries continue to discuss marriage and Amendment 14F, the outline of God’s will for us together as church in the 21st century begins to take shape. I previously wrote about the experience of meeting with Marc Benton and the lessons forgiveness, and weeping, can teach us about building a gracious space. In the weeks […]
On Nov 10, 2014 ⋅ No comments
How the Presbyterian Church (USA) can find common ground and a space for gracious conversation continues to occupy my thoughts and imagination. In my latest post for More Light Presbyterians, I recount lessons learned from the movement to ordain women and the Kenyon case – forgotten history, perhaps, for some, but a vivid memory for […]
On Nov 4, 2014 ⋅ No comments
In a follow up to my piece on forgiveness, I share with you my experience visiting Marc Benton in York. This was not easy to write. Below is a short excerpt from the piece, which you can find in full on MLP’s website. Some days have passed since then. As a slow feeler, I needed […]
