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Putting Out Fires

My father used to tell a story about his job and putting out fires. He sat at his desk, concentrating, and the phone would ring. A problem had flared up, demanding his immediate attention, diverting him from what he really needed to be doing. It drove him bonkers—when would he get his real work done?—until he realized putting out fires was his real...

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Another Mother Mary Publication

I know, I know. I said I was starting a new blog schedule in 2022. And I am, I promise. But I want y’all to know about my latest publication: “The Three Mary’s Birth Hope…or Not” It appears in EAP the Magazine’s Winter issue. You can read it here. The story is an excerpt from my unpublished novel...

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Do You Want to be Transformed?

Don’t answer too quickly. Think about it. It’s a big question. Most Christians traditions value transformation, though different churches use different words. Born-again. Repentance. Metanoya. In this Advent season, rebirth is a big one. Most label transformation a goal, if not a promise. Transformed, you won’t see the world...

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Are You a Scapegoater?

Yesterday, we completed Week 2 of the Mississippi Episcopal Church’s Anti-Racism and Racial Reconciliation training. Click here to read about Week 1 of this 4 week training. What did I learn this week (other than, apparently, my voice doesn’t stand out in a large Zoom group, and I have a short temper about that?) Words Matter When...

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Anti-Racism for Advent

This Advent, my husband and I are participating in Anti-Racism and Racial Reconciliation training. If this seems an odd choice, remember that my turn towards anti-racism began with the Memphis School of Servant Leadership, a religious organization. This training is offered by the Episcopal Church in Mississippi. We meet once a week for four weeks....

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Can America be the Land of the Brave?

Y’all know this story, right? About how King David of Israel saw a woman bathing and asked who she was. David’s advisors told him she was the wife of Uriah, one of David’s soldiers. David’s messengers “brought Bathsheba to him.” They had sex. David then arranged for her husband Uriah to be killed in battle...

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A Random Sunday

Today at the Free Church of the Annunciation, we wrapped up the month of June doing We R Righting Group where, during the hour before church, we wrote about Re-Orienting Our New Selves after the discombobulating last eighteen months. We had fun. Fun, I say, if that’s what you think of the Holy Spirit appearing while almost-strangers share...

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Nekkid People

This morning in church I was a lay reader for the first time in my life. You usually have to go through training or some such before they let you stand at the head of the church at the heavily-carved lectern with a microphone in front of you and read the word of God—we say that after the reading, intone it, actually: “The Word of God.”...

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