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Link to Scripture: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2012%3A1-11&version=NRSVUE I am a bivocational pastor who is also a board-certified music therapist. I work in hospice when I am not working for the church. Most of my patients do not know they are dying (due to dementia), but their families do. Frequently, the families share their hopes, concerns, and grief with me. We forget that Jesus had friends and disciples; his talking about his upcoming death would c

Link to Scripture: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians%202%3A5-11&version=NRSVUE   I grew up in the Roman Catholic tradition. I attended Catholic schools from first grade through high school. I was an altar boy in elementary school. That was considered a privileged position to serve as an assistant to the priest during the mass. Like the priests, we also wore robes. That’s heady stuff for an 11- or 12-year-old. I especially remember serving as an altar bo

In November 2024, I had an unexpected conversation with a long-time UCC colleague, the Rev. Dr. Courtney Stange-Tregear, who just began her term this month as the new President and Chief Executive Officer of the Disciples Church Extension Fund. This is a well-earned honor and comes as no surprise to those who, like me, have crossed paths with Courtney in a variety of church spaces over the years. Her previous position was with the Cornerstone Fund; and as I write this reflect

This Disciples Seminary Foundation 2026 Lenten reflection theme is “for such a time as this.” This theme is pertinent for me because of those in God’s world around me – both near and far. As I considered this season in my life, for such a time as this, the phrase “freedom is not free” rings deep within my spirit, even to the marrow in my bones. While I am on the ordination track studying ministerial leadership and spiritual renewal, God saw fit for me to experience and to eng

Lent, at its core, is a season of turning. It is a time when we collectively pause on the long, unpredictable drive of life to check our spiritual bearings. [On March 1], I stood before my congregation in Alaska and reminded them that we are all on a journey: driving through storms of personal worry, heavy work schedules, and foggy futures. But as I look beyond the walls of our sanctuary to the wider community and the nation, I realize the storm we are driving through is much

I was recently in a small discussion group with a few other women. We were discussing our lives and our heartbreak at the things going on in the country, and our concerns about growing older. One woman mentioned a Jewish belief that sharing one’s true gift, living in alignment with one’s true nature, is how the world will be saved. I found the idea intriguing, so I did a little research online and learned that this concept is the principle of “pikuach nefesh,” which means sa