Jesus’ Life and Martin’s Death
A sermon about the convergence of Dr. King’s assassination and Jesus’ resurrection preached Easter Sunday, April 4, 2021. The biblical text is Mark 16,...
Easter Topiaries
The unofficial theme for the Easter I created these topiaries might as well have been "Church Clean-Out," because everything I used to make them...
Into the Light
Luke 23.50 – 24.12
When my wife and I first got married, we spent more than a little time talking about the future—as you do...
Justice
Busted
Concerned about rising gun violence, St. David’s Episcopal Church outside Detroit hosted a gun buyback in December so residents could trade firearms for gift cards.
“We’re trying...
WHAM!
When I started dating Todd Thomason, I had no idea I was signing up for a 30-year cultural exchange program. While I was a...
Coronations
There were two coronations the weekend of May 6th: One in England and one in Shondaland. For those who don’t know, England is a...
A Review and a Reckoning Part 1
After listening to Clint Smith speak in an interview about his book How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery...
Creative Worship
Paper Doves Take Flight
I initially created these paper birds for an Easter processional to accompany the theme "Sing a New Song," but they are equally appropriate for...
Journey of the Magi
One of our favorite additions to the church's service for Epiphany is a staged reading of T.S. Eliot's classic poem for Christmas, "Journey of...
Justice Resources
Birthing Kit Tree: A Justice Project for Christmas
Advent when churches are focusing on the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, is a great opportunity to remember that women all over the...
Daughters of Rizpah: Working Through Trauma
Buttry, Sharon A. and Daniel L. Buttry. Daughters of Rizpah: Nonviolence and the Transformation of Trauma. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2020.
Sharon and Dan Buttry...
Book Reviews
A Review and a Reckoning Part 1
After listening to Clint Smith speak in an interview about his book How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery...
A Review and a Reckoning Part 2
While planning my daughters’ homeschool history lessons I stumbled across Wheatlands Plantation about an hour away from where we’ve been living in Tennessee. Not...
Daughters of Rizpah: Working Through Trauma
Buttry, Sharon A. and Daniel L. Buttry. Daughters of Rizpah: Nonviolence and the Transformation of Trauma. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2020.
Sharon and Dan Buttry...
World of Meaning
This month marks the 40th anniversary of the death of Howard Thurman (April 10), an early twentieth century African-American theologian, poet, pastor, and activist...
Books for Reckoning with White Supremacy in the American Church
The Cross and the Lynching Tree, James H. Cone (2011)
The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism, Jemar Tisby...