It’s been a hard day, and seeking solace, turned to prayer. I pulled this book off my shelf because the title — Light and Peace — spoke to me. It’s a collection of prayers by Charles Hall Leonard, published by the Murray Press, a Universalist publisher, in 1915. Leonard (1822-1918) was an outsized figure in… Continue reading “A Fruitful Life”
Category: Pastoral liturgy
A question for wedding officiants
Legislative and court successes have expanded same-sex couples access to legal marriage; my husband and I have benefited from it. It’s exciting to see the couples line up on the first “legal” day. Some of these will then get married on the courthouse steps, or some location nearby. It’s particularly encouraging to see Unitarian Universalist… Continue reading A question for wedding officiants
Following on Mandela: how a small church can hold a vigil
Last time, I mentioned I took my prayerbook to the South African embassy to pay my respects after the death of Nelson Mandela; I used it too, reading part of the funeral office near the embassy. On my walk back I thought of all of the public calamities and thanksgivings and losses a church might… Continue reading Following on Mandela: how a small church can hold a vigil
Norwegian liturgical help for Sunday
This is late, and rather thin, but I thought some readers might like to know of that the Church of Norway has liturgical resources in English translation online. There are few distinctive prayers that might be useful to mark the Oslo killings, but the funeral service (PDF) might be helpful in identifying a biblical passage… Continue reading Norwegian liturgical help for Sunday
Mothers Day alternatives in worship
It’s no secret that I don’t like secular holidays in church. They raise the question, “How did this holiday become part of our story?” The implied answer is “Well, it’s not really, but we don’t have a clear way of saying yes or no to the dominant culture.” And sometimes we must say no or… Continue reading Mothers Day alternatives in worship
The shortest wedding service
A post-church, post-lunch interlude. Found this in a decades-old Unitarian ministers’ manual. Why would someone choose this service? Perhaps for a wedding in a hospital, at a sick-bed, or for a couple in mourning where the solemnization is otherwise unavoidable. Or by two who really do want the shortest service possible! Later. Left out a… Continue reading The shortest wedding service
The wedding service, legally speaking
In 2004, after marriage between persons of the same sex became legal, I wrote a blog post about what a pastor might do when the couple had already vowed themselves to each other in the only spheres available: the social, religious or both. Husband Jonathan and I are clear that our wedding seven years ago… Continue reading The wedding service, legally speaking
Legally married
As some of you know, on August 21, Jonathan Padget and I legally married at home in the company of some local friends. He and I were married at church in 2003, but now that the District of Columbia marriage law encompasses same-sex couples we wanted to “complete” our marriage. (The liturgy follows.) The Rev.… Continue reading Legally married
“A Practical Wedding”
That’s the name of a blog I just started reading. (HT: Get Rich Slowly) No, I’m not getting married again. But the “wedding industrial complex” has bothered me for years, and I’ve seen the ideal of the perfect wedding get in the way of what it seemed the couple (or at least one half the… Continue reading “A Practical Wedding”
Ethical man: the end
If the “year without toilet paper” didn’t gross out willing environmentalists, perhaps the idea of composting the dead (link to Ethical Man blog) will. I don’t care if it takes a lot of energy — about a month’s worth for a living Westerner — to cremate a body, I will not be composted or even… Continue reading Ethical man: the end