(Picture is from the newsletter of Frist Baptist Church, Winston-Salem, NC in 1962 when Randall Lolley was called as pastor.)   I cannot remember a time when he wasn’t there.   Every Sunday I sat with my family in our chosen pew, the first row out from under the balcony, left-hand side, and our pastor Randall Lolley was there nearly every Sunday. I remember the small notebook that held his preaching notes and his passionate love for Wake Forest sports, which was mostly a cross to bear in those days.   I have a childhood memory of one Sunday after Wake had beaten rival North Caro ..read more

Acceptance is a big word in spiritual, self-growth, and personal development arenas.   Accepting what we cannot change.   Accepting the reality of the present situation, whatever that situation is and however it came about.   Accepting that you’re never going to get the parent you wish you’d had or the childhood you wished you’d lived.   Accepting that you’re never going to be tall or that you're always going to be tall.   Acceptance is a powerful movement of the soul and of the heart and of the mind. Acceptance frees us up from spinning our wheels and spending ..read more

In some ways, they were so different.   Betty White won Emmy awards. Archbishop Desmond Tutu won the Nobel Peace Prize. White was known for her comedic wit and for the wide range of characters she played. (Was there ever a greater contrast than that between Happy Homemaker Sue Ann and Golden Girl Rose?)   Archbishop Tutu was known for his opposition for apartheid in South Africa and, after the fall of apartheid, chairing the Truth and Reconciliation commission.   A Black man who was an Anglican priest born and raised in South Africa. A White woman who was an actress and game sho ..read more

As I sit by the fire this morning, the rain has just turned to snow. I have to remind myself not to pick up the phone to call my mother.   My mother and I both dearly loved snow, immediately becoming children in our excitement.    After I moved out of the house, we developed a new ritual of calling each other with the good news. “It’s snowing!” We’d compare notes as to what was happening at each of our houses (even when we lived only a few miles apart). We’d share our delight in how beautiful it was, and if it was particularly promising she’d talk of snow cream and I’d talk abou ..read more

Beloved of God, You are not a product in need of a new and improved version.   You are a growing thing. You need only to trim away the vines and all that keeps you stooped and tangled.   You are a blossoming thing, You need only to allow your Self to unfold and open the beauty of your spirit to the world.   You are a shining thing. You need only to let the brilliance of your light be what it is.   Have no regard for those who want you to grow elsewhere, for those who prefer blooms of different shapes and colors, for those who declare your light too big and too bold and ..read more

She was baffled as to why she was there.   My ordination council crowded around the long, heavy conference room table. My pastor pulled together some of the most well known and well regarded Baptist ministers in our town, and it was an amazing gathering.   (Well, at least the ones we regarded well because they would not look askance at ordaining a woman to ministry.)   Also there, by my request, was our church librarian. She said out loud that she wasn’t quite sure of why she was there. She had no formal training in theology, no experience of ordained ministry.   I was nerv ..read more

At this point, the whole feeding thing is starting to feel less awkward and more natural. Joseph can hold his tiny son with a little less fear that the child will break. They’re settling into a new routine where days and nights run together and the only marker of time is sleep/no sleep.   Mary pats his back to coax a burp from him, and cleans Jesus up after he’s relieved himself. Jesus can do absolutely nothing on his own.   We tend to skip over this part of the story. We rush the astrologers in on the heels of the shepherds. The next thing we know he’s an infant being welcomed in th ..read more

It’s easy to miss since we mostly tell the stories from one spot, whether we’re standing behind a pulpit, sitting on a folding chair in a church classroom or curled up by the fire at home. We find our way to the gospel of Luke, and never quite pay attention to how much people are leaving one place and going to another.    Mary travels to see Elizabeth. Mary and Joseph travel to Bethlehem. Shepherds travel from their fields to follow the angels’ promise. Mary and Joseph pack up their baby to travel to Egypt to save their son’s life.   (As an aside, I’ve never really understood Ch ..read more

Some thank you notes come in the form of a little boy keeping his new book tucked under his arm wherever he goes, every now and then returning to me to ask with anxious hope, “Can I keep it at home?”   “Yes, buddy, that book is yours.”   I know for some Christmas gift-giving is just one more burden or one more reminder of finances already stretched too thin. I have to confess, however, that I love it.   It’s kind of a game for me, the challenge of searching out that herd of unicorns, the gifts that fit perfectly for both the person and my budget. Part of my delight on Christmas ..read more

What a strange thing it is to sing of silent nights when that night was anything but.     The sounds of a woman giving birth, the outraged squall of a baby  who finds himself kicked out of his very comfortable room.     Were there animals making room in that stable? Were they punctuating the night with snorts of exhaled breath, shuffling of hooves?     For shepherds, it was the most un-silent night of their lives, what with angels and glorias and sounds they couldn‘t quite describe but that they’d never forget.     As they walked together were they ..read more