Next Tuesday, I’ll step on board one of Boeing’s finest airplanes and begin two straight days of travel. From San Francisco to Dubai, Dubai to Dar es Salaam, I’ll join Quest Elder Barbara Lundquist and head to Chamwino, Tanzania. Having been to Tanzania a few times, and as the founder of Chamwino Connect, Barb is … Continue reading
Remember 2007? Buddhist monks peacefully protested in the streets of Rangoon, Burma (Myanmar). As they walked or stood, in robes of crimson and saffron, they were arrested, beaten, shot, killed, silenced. The international community was outraged, celebrities were contacted, and suddenly we were all sporting t-shirts and bracelets. Protests took place here in the US, … Continue reading
Isaiah 50:4-9a To those who suffer, what words of comfort dare we offer? Do we know the “word that sustains the weary,” (v. 4)? In the late 1990’s, besieged by circumstances unaccountably complex, my parents were faced with an impossible choice: choose which child you will keep. Working class salaries, especially when work became harder … Continue reading
There is so much going on in the world, and I’m posting about some interior processing that’s been on my heart and mind as I try to articulate for myself what it means to be a minister. What it means for me to be a minister. I apologize for looking inward, when so often we … Continue reading
Some shots from the NPC Annual Meeting tonight: As promised, I’m posting a few pics from the NPC Annual Meeting, along with some abbreviated notes from what I presented. Our longer testimonies and personal backgrounds were included in a handout given to those attending, and the seven of us were each given 5 minutes to … Continue reading
“I can’t stand your religious meetings. I’m fed up with your conferences and conventions. I want nothing to do with your religion projects, your pretentious slogans and goals. I’m sick of your fund-raising schemes, your public relations and image making. I’ve had all I can take of your noisy ego-music. When was the last time … Continue reading
Last Monday was the first night of our depth class on Faith and Gender. As a woman pastor in the Evangelical church, I am aware of the difficulties of dealing with this topic, and the emotional vulnerability entering into such a discussion requires. I can distance myself emotionally, while clearly elucidating that this is not … Continue reading
are you one of us? a member of the ranks of those who can’t help themselves when passing a new or used bookstore and just have to go in? in college, a tight budget meant i only carried cash into Magus, my favorite used bookstore near the UW. as a lifelong fan of the printed … Continue reading
I’ve landed in the midwest, and am spending the week at North Park University, aka the bastion of all things Swedish. There are Swedish Fish in the vending machine, lutefisk has been threatened more than once, and the Vikings are dressed in the colors of the Swedish flag. While meatballs can be had at a … Continue reading
Give me half a chance, and I’ll talk your ear off. My opinons about the best coffee in town, atonement theologies, ideas about dismantling institutional and social racism in our churches and societies, education policies, how to cook the perfect palak paneer at home, whining about the closure of the only restaurant in seattle that … Continue reading
