Every day I worry that I waste too much time zipping around to Internet sites, and I always feel I spend too much time on social media.  But each day, I get a bit of inspiration, a bit of uplift that keeps me hopeful that it's not a complete waste of time.  I've pasted some samples below. And it's also worth remembering that I've always wasted some time:  trashy books, afternoon talk shows like Oprah, gossiping with colleagues.  It's good to remember that they weren't all complete wastes of time.  And it's probably unrealistic to expect myself to be productive every wa ..read more

The readings for Sunday, December 8, 2024: Malachi 3:1-4 or Baruch 5:1-9 Luke 1:68-79 (Luke 1:78) Philippians 1:3-11 Luke 3:1-6 In this week's Gospel, we see and hear John the Baptist proclaiming the good news. We'll see him in different contexts throughout the liturgical year. Luke gives a rather tame introduction--no locusts or wild honey. But he is living in the wilderness, which has led me to think of the role of wilderness in the lives of believers. Again, in this season of relentless festivity, this Gospel (and all the Advent readings) might give us a bit of disconnect. Why is John ..read more

Yesterday I did storytelling assignments for two of my seminary classes.  I began the day by driving down to Spartanburg Methodist College for one last meeting.  In fact, I drove down early because one of my department colleagues suggested that we meet for lunch--lunch was hard, but breakfast worked out for most of us.  It was a delight. I came home just in time to wish my spouse good luck as he headed to the dentist.  I knew he would be gone for awhile; it was a fix the cavities visit, not a cleaning.  I decided to go ahead and experiment with filming my final project ..read more

Yesterday, we watched worship from other churches where we have a connection.  I'm always interested to know what other churches are doing.  I had taken a walk with the pastor who was supply pastor at our local Lutheran church yesterday, and I wanted to know how her sermon would turn out, especially since her ideas about the fig tree inspired me to look at the Gospel passage with fresh eyes. Her approach was different than mine, which was no surprise, but we both saw the leaves on the fig tree as a sign of hope, not a harbinger of doom (or a harbinger of autumn and winter being right ..read more

 December 1, 2024 By Kristin Berkey-Abbott Luke 21:25-36 As I was thinking about this Advent text, I went to my file of sermons written to look up the sermon for last year’s first Sunday of Advent.  I was surprised to find out that a year ago, we had apocalyptic texts.  At first I thought I had my lectionary years mixed up, but no—last year, we had apocalyptic texts from Mark (the same reading we had two weeks ago), and this year, we get similar imagery from Luke. If you leave church today feeling slightly confused, I don’t blame you.  We’ve got a Chrismon tree, but ..read more

Today is the feast day of Saint Andrew, remembered as the first disciple. He's the brother of Simon Peter, and Andrew is the one who told Peter about Jesus. Andrew followed John the Baptist, and John the Baptist introduced Jesus as the true Messiah. Andrew believed, and Andrew brought his brother to see what he had seen. Tradition has it that the brothers didn’t give up their family fishing business at first, but eventually, Christ requested full commitment. I’ve always wondered about the family relationships that simmer in the background of the Gospels. I remember one Gospel reading that men ..read more

We gather with grateful hearts in the hopes that we can remember to maintain this gratitude. We pray for those who do not have much that inspires gratitude this year. We pray for those who went to bed hungry last night. We pray for those who have been shattered and broken. We pray to a God who knows how to transform brokenness into beauty. We prepare our hearts for Advent, watching and waiting, even when we are tired of watching and waiting ..read more

May all of our cooking result in deliciousness. May we remember those who have no food to cook. As we celebrate with others, may we feel joy. Let us remember those who are no longer with us, and let the sadness wash through us, leaving us unharmed. May we remember to conserve our energy for what's important. May we remember those who do not have that luxury. Let us remember that gratitude is always appropriate ..read more

 The Wednesday before Thanksgiving has often been my favorite day of the year.  I love the years when we've done the travel on Tuesday, and on Wednesday, we can have mixes of relaxing and getting ready for the Thanksgiving feast.  I have such great memories of Thanksgiving Wednesdays of past years, when I was surrounded by children who are so happy to with the larger family (more people to read the favorite books or play games). Our Thanksgiving break this year will be different:  different travel plans, different destinations, time with my spouse's family, not my family ..read more

The readings for Sunday, December 1, 2024: Jeremiah 33:14-16 Psalm 25:1-10 (Ps. 25:1) 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13 Luke 21:25-36 Across the nation, many people have already begun to decorate for Christmas. The stores are full of winter holiday stuff, some of it already deeply discounted. The TV ads swirl with Christmas cheer. Many of us are trying to fight off the apocalyptic feelings both in our souls and in the larger world. If you're in a truly festive mood, the readings for Advent must often seem jarring. They tend to be apocalyptic in nature. Take this week's reading from Luke, for exam ..read more