We have spent the past 6 weeks exploring themes from Henri Nouwen’s book Life of the Beloved. And now it is time for me to tell you the hard truth. Henri’s book was deemed a failure by Fred and his friends and he wondered if he should even publish the book. But there is aContinue reading “Life of the Beloved: Where is the Sacred?”
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Life of the Beloved: Given
This summer I attended a virtual conference called Womanist Dialogue #Say her Name: Preaching and teaching for Freedom hosted by Rev. Dr. Mitzi J Smith. (Rev. Dr. Mitzi Smith is a teacher, preacher, biblical scholar, author and founder/president of living in full empowerment. She is the first African American female to earn the PhD inContinue reading “Life of the Beloved: Given”
Life of the Beloved: Broken
According to HAI Global (www.hai.org/connection-is-essential-to-survival), the more we understand about neurobiology and social psychology the more we understand that humans are wired to connect. The latest neuroscience out of UCLA tells us that the drive for connection is as essential to our wellbeing as our basic needs of food, water and shelter. Back in 2016,Continue reading “Life of the Beloved: Broken”
Life of the Beloved: Blessed
In the documentary my octopus Teacher, a diver sees an octopus while spending time in a kelp forest off the coast of south Africa. The diver delighted in this strange creature. She was a wonder to behold. And he was drawn to her recognizing that there was something to learn from this creature. And soContinue reading “Life of the Beloved: Blessed”
Life of the Beloved: Taken
Today, we continue on in our teaching series following Henri Nouwen’s Life of the Beloved. In this book, we see a new friendship begin to flourish between a writer named Fred and Henri Nouwen who is a catholic priest, academic, and prominent speaker about the Spiritual Life. As this friendship develops, Fred commissions Henri toContinue reading “Life of the Beloved: Taken”
Becoming the Beloved
It used to be that people were drawn to be a part of faith communities for 3 reasons. They wanted something to believe in. They wanted a sense of belonging and or they hoped to find a better way to behave. What is interesting is that research shows that what is drawing people to churchContinue reading “Becoming the Beloved”
From the Pew to the Mat & Back
Hello friends! It has been a while since I added to my blog. In 2020, I felt a lack of words to describe my experience so I held on tightly to my husband and children and spent a lot of time outside enjoying nature. Now, I am back and have a new position as PastorContinue reading “From the Pew to the Mat & Back”
The Call of the Midwife Breathe. Listen. Push
Valarie Koer is a Sikh faith leader, a seasoned civil rights activist, the daughter of Sikh farmers, and a celebrated prophetic voice. In 2016 she was invited by William Barber II to speak at Metropolitan AME church, a historic black church in Washington D.C. Here is what she said, The future is dark. But whatContinue reading “The Call of the Midwife Breathe. Listen. Push”
Beyonce & Hagar: Listen
I can’t tell you how elated I was to find that our lectionary text today is part of the Hagar Narrative. The story of Hagar is very dear to my heart. In fact, I devote 3 years and 100 pages to theologically ground my Doctor of Ministry project in Hagar’s story. I was drawn toContinue reading “Beyonce & Hagar: Listen”
The Power of the Breath
In the past three months, we have been reminded of the power of the breath. The novel coronavirus is experienced differently in each body, but in severe cases, it is an assault on the breath. Coughing, congestion, tightness in the chest, the body not receiving oxygen even when the breath isn’t labored, pictures of peopleContinue reading “The Power of the Breath”
