So, tomorrow is Mother’s Day. And I’m glad I’m not preaching. It’s an impossible gig. I’m really glad I’m not preaching. You need to talk about Mother’s Day, as if it were traditional for churches and not a civil and cultural observance, so lacking many of the liturgical hooks that makes worship manageable. You need… Continue reading So glad I don’t preach Mother’s Day
Category: Holidays
What is your favorite Easter or Passover film?
An open post, for comments. I was thinking about how many Pesach/Paska films there are — or at least with a biblical theme and replayed on television this time of year. The Ten Commandments, sure, but does anything else appeal to you? Must watches?
“Maundy”?
I’ve casually mentioned my plans this week to several people and almost every time I’ve been asked what I mean by Maundy Thursday. It’s today. It is the anniversary of Jesus’ last supper with his disciples. And so it is the anniversary of the giving of the Lord’s Supper as a sacrament or ordinance. It’s… Continue reading “Maundy”?
How to make a palm cross
I watched a bunch of palm cross how-to videos, so you don’t have to. My bias is to make a palm cross out of a single strip, and to have both arms, the head and of the foot of the cross folded back into the central knot. I think they look better, because they’re less… Continue reading How to make a palm cross
Ash Wednesday resources
I was talking to a friend about Ash Wednesday services. They’re not my favorite — the ashes can be ostentatious, and it reflects a particular Western Christian piety that I don’t care for — but the service has become more widely observed in the last couple of generations, so I’d like to revisit three blog… Continue reading Ash Wednesday resources
Preaching next on February 15
So, I’ve got about a month to prepare for my next sermon, and I’d love you to to hear it– and visit Universalist National Memorial Church — on February 15, 2015, at 11 a.m. (Directions.) That’s the Feast of the Transfiguration, and I’ll be preaching from the appointed Revised Common Lectionary texts.
The Soul of the Bible: Christmas edition
Bonus blog post, following up from earlier. So, it seems the 1908 and 1946 editions are close — there’s a preface missing the later edition — indeed, so close that the arranged version of the customary Luke 2 passage, read at Christmas shares a page number. But what’s the reading based on? It’s Luke 2:8-20,… Continue reading The Soul of the Bible: Christmas edition
St. Mary, Mother of God, pray with us
Less a proper blog post than a thought, perhaps to amplify later. I’ve read — but forget where — that Christmas is the time when Protestants become (more) Catholic. A higher regard for the saints and the generous use of medieval images come to mind. Not just the “you and me Jesus” focus that, in… Continue reading St. Mary, Mother of God, pray with us
Blue Christmas/Longest Night rollcall
“Blue Christmas” and “Longest Night” services are related phenomena that respect the worship needs of mourners, depressed or distressed people. Or more generally, those for whom the cheer of the season brings more pain than joy. But it’s not easy to find these services if you’re not looking for them, and some are well before… Continue reading Blue Christmas/Longest Night rollcall
An Advent daily reader for mixed generations?
Well, after writing yesterday that I had no comment about Advent… well, a conversation at church changed that. Do you know of a family — that is, appropriate for use by adult and school-aged children — daily manual for Advent, appropriate for Universalist Christians? Ideally, something with a Bible passage for the day, a meditation… Continue reading An Advent daily reader for mixed generations?