Christmas Every Day
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If you are a typical person, you are taking some very deep breaths and expressing gratitude that the holidays are “finally over.”
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The Gift of Music
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“Sing to the mountains because as you sing, they are being cast into the sea. As you sing, the portals of heaven are opening.” Sherry K. White
Read MoreHeavy: Finding "Our Moral Center"
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These days are heavy. As I dropped Clivie off at school this morning, I cranked up my “Strong Women” playlist in the car to lift my spirits after listening to a few minutes of the impeachment hearings, coverage of the school shooting in Santa Clarita, and news of the Supreme Court deliberations about DACA I also have one of the scriptures I memorized with Grandma running repeatedly through my mind-In perfect King James English.
Read MoreThe One We Are Waiting For
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Hopi Elders say “We are the ones we have been waiting for.” How many of us spend our days waiting for someone else to change things?
Read MoreRev. Jeanne's Hand Blessing Ceremony from the UCH 60th Anniversary Celebration
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There have been a lot of requests for Rev. Jeanne’s Hand Blessing from the Anniversary Celebration. So we made it todays blog. -Editors
The Work of Our Hands: A Blessing for the United Church of Hayward, UCC 60th Anniversary Celebration © Rev Jeanne Loveless
Read MoreThe Waters That Connect Us All
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“The monastic life is like digging into a well: over the years you dig deeper and deeper in your understanding of things, until the day arrives that you reach the waters that connect us all.” Brother David
Read MoreThe "New Normal"
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I think that I first heard the phrase from a newsperson on cable TV referring to the state of our country under an immoral and criminal leadership style unlike anything we have ever experienced. The new normal replaces the usual, the expected, and the typical state of affairs to which we have become accustomed. The new normal encourages us to deal with the current situation rather than spending time and effort lamenting about change and loss.
Read MoreA Blessing?
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Often these days I find myself questioning the worth of my prayer life. These are the times when I am certain, upon reflecting back, that I confuse prayer with a request line. You know what I am talking about, I’m sure you do.
Read MoreJourney Fences
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Being on a Journey implies not staying in one place very long – or it would not be called “Journey.” Our faith Journey finds us continually on the move. Sometimes we get comfortably settled and figure, “It will always be thus.” Yet we know from experience that as things change, we need to leave the comfort zone and move forward into the unknown.
Read MoreTehillim For an Intense Summer
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As I have returned from vacation, checked in with many of you this week, and heard your stories, I am aware of how heavy many of our lives are right now.
Read MoreReturning the Light
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Forgiveness is a mysterious thing. We hold trauma in our bodies. And sometimes when we forgive others and ourselves, we have to let go of things in layers. We might even think we are done with the forgiveness process, and don’t even know another layer is there. Maybe that is why Jesus said what he did to Peter about forgiving “seventy times seven” times. Sometimes there are that many layers of trauma trapped in us and we have to let them go one by one so the light can return to us again.
Messy Times
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Have you noticed how preparing creamy mashed potatoes involves preliminary messy times of dealing with potato peelings? A well-running car has messy times of oil changes. We perform these actions, not because we relish the mess, but because we have a bigger goal in mind.
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Held and Holding: River Deep, Or Mountain High
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This Saturday is also my 55th birthday, And as I breathe deep and celebrate that as my anniversary grief comes up, I find myself thinking about my son’s first birthday and the life changing journey that was the first few hours of his life. God held us through that messy, terrifying, light/dark place- Just as God held us through Stan’s funeral last June, is holding us as we move into new things as Beloved Community and is holding all of you as you share your challenging stories with me. God holds all of us. That is the euangelion (Gk), or “Good News” we share, no matter what the terrain looks like where we are walking: River Deep. Or Mountain High.
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Universal Wonders
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On our recent trip to New Mexico, we visited the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science in Albuquerque and attended part of a lecture on black holes.
Read More"The Rapture of Living"
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“Once I knew only darkness and stillness. . .
My life was without past or future . . .
But a little word from the fingers of another
Fell into my hand that clutched at emptiness,
And my heart leaped to the rapture of living.” Helen Keller
Read MoreShow Me A Sign
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The Gospel of John is full of signs of a different sort. From the opening of Jesus’ ministry at the Marriage Feast at Cana, people are all really interested in Jesus giving them a sign. Some of the signs in John’s Gospel are easy to see. And some aren’t. Peter gets a very interesting sign in John 21 as he and the Disciples encounter Risen Jesus on the beach at the Sea of Tiberius/Galilee. To see it, you have to be able to read a little Greek.
Read MoreAn Invitation to Rise Together
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So here we are, already at Easter. It seems like a week ago we were celebrating Christmas and I haven’t even sent out my Christmas cards yet! What does all of this mean to us? How can we authentically celebrate Easter? In other words, what in our own lives, is the living out of the Resurrection experience?
Read More"But Mommy! I Saw It!"
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I sometimes let Clivie have a snack and watch a show or two before I move him on to homework in the afternoon. It gives me a chance to breathe, unload the dishwasher, and hopefully have a few minutes to pray. One recent afternoon, as I pulled out the tablet and asked him what he wanted to watch- he said emphatically “I want the show with the green excalius Beyblade!”
Read More"Well, here's another fine mess you've gotten me into!"
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Fans of the comedy team of Laurel and Hardy will recognize the classic catchphrase that was spoken in many of their films in the early days of American cinema.
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