Divorce. Disease. Death. The uncomfortable truth is that our congregation, our communities, and our country is hurting. From more than just those three 'd' words, of course. But those are the ones I've encountered most in recent weeks and months. Too often, we feel the need to present ourselves as doing fine -- even in …
Tag: Prayer
‘Blessed are the peacemakers’
Today is Nelson Mandela Day; it could hardly occur at a better time. What the world needs now is a whole lot of people praying for - and working for - peace. Those of us who claim the name of Jesus better be leading those efforts, if we want to live up to that name. …
Responding to evil with a hope and a prayer
How often this week have you heard someone say, "Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of ______"? Boston, Iraq, Texas, Iran, Illinois...there's no shortage of people dealing with violence, disaster, pain, and tragedy. There never is. Has the "thoughts and prayers" sentiment gone the way of "how are you"? Tossed off with little …
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Finding Buerstetta-er?
Two months. It's been two months since my last post here. In times like this my blog title makes me look like an idiot. I wish I could blame the void on a planned hiatus. While summer has been crazy busy, and I did spend a good portion of July curating a private blog …
“We will work with each other, we will work side by side”
"I'm praying for you." I must admit that far too often when I say those words to people experiencing pain, loss, grief, despair, they sound trite. Even though I mean it. Even though I'm actually praying for the person and the situation, I don't know how to say those words without sounding rote and insincere. …
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Back-to-School Prayer
Here in my neck of the woods, this is back-to-school week. Many of our kids started today, some start tomorrow, some even started on Monday. (Starting in new year on a Monday? That seems especially cruel.) So in spite of the 90 degree heat, I'm thinking about fall... This time of year there are two …
All That I Can't Leave Unsaid 