Amber Mattingly

When I was a little girl, my parents travelled a lot.  I had a great babysitter who I still fondly remember.  My dad not only traveled with my mom for fun, but he was also traveling for work.  When he would return home, I think he expected to be greeted at the door with excitement, […]

My day begins when my alarm goes off at 3:09 am.  I quickly throw on clothes, make the drive to Saint Benedicts Monastery and I am in my seat by 3:29am.  She writes, “The monks in white robes have gathered silently on benches in the very back of the church. As the hall clock sounds […]

How many of you have asked the question at some point in your life, “Where is God in real times of trouble?”  or “How do I take refuge in God?” In Psalm 46, the Psalmist writes 3 times that God is our refuge. In the very first line, we read, “God is our refuge and […]

February was a time to bring our awareness to Domestic and Intimate Partner Violence. As I followed the lectionary text in choosing our passages for each Sunday, I just could not make it fit, but as I studied our sacred text for today, the message hit me in the face.  For the longest time, Domestic […]

The first week of every February is World InterFaith Harmony week.  In 2010, King Abdullah II of Jordan presented the idea of celebrating World Interfaith Harmony Week to the United Nations General Assembly.  He said, “In his speech King Abdulla said, “It is [also] essential to resist forces of division that spread misunderstanding and mistrust […]

Vlad Sokhin started an organization called warm waters that focuses on climate change that is affecting nations bordering the pacific ocean. He reported that in the Island Nation of Oceania he has seen whole villages destroyed by high winds and storm surges. Some people have already been displaced and some have lost their lives.  Tuvalu […]

https://www.facebook.com/hcchouston/videos/686674079379365 Click the link above if you would like to see this story LIVE. Begin at 24:44-38 This is the story about a place. The place of the 4 piles. This is a story about a place and the people who live in that place. The people of the place of the 4 piles spent […]

On December 4, 1955, a one-day boycott of the city lines in Montgomery was planned. A group of  leaders began calling around to find local pastors who were willing to participate in the negotiations with city officials that they hoped would happen the following day. One of the calls made was to a pastor named […]

My niece, Natalie, just started driving. On December 18th, she had her 16th birthday party and on Monday morning, December 18th, she woke her mom, my sister, excited and ready to take her driving test.  Friends, she passed her drivers test by only a few points and then she drove her mom home. Then, we […]

There was a period of time in my life when I wondered if I was following God.  I had transitioned out of working in the church and began working with people who identified themselves from a wide variety of religious or nonreligious backgrounds. This was a very difficult transition for me because I loved the […]