May 2013
58 posts
2 tags
“There are times, many times, when I can’t pray, I am too tired to pray or I am...”
– Desmond Tutu, God Has a Dream (103)  (via myadventuresinoddity)
May 24th
20 notes
5 tags
This might sound weird but all week I kept picturing Jesus sticking his fingers in each of your ears – in the ears of you pastors and saying “BE OPENED”.  And then in the same daydream, before I could stop it, I pictured Jesus’ Holy and unwashed fingers in my own ears. He touched me, sighed, looked to heaven and said Be Opened.  To which I said “oh. no thanks”. Because, let’s be honest, it’s...
May 23rd
1 note
2 tags
“Instead of focusing on how far you still have to go, take some time today to...”
– Daniell Koepke (via internal-acceptance-movement)
May 23rd
275 notes
1 tag
“The further you walk away from your problems, the longer the walk back to fixing...”
– Unknown (via creatingaquietmind)
May 23rd
952 notes
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May 22nd
35,182 notes
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provingmyexistence: a note to self  1. There will be several days that you daydream about stepping in front of a city bus. Don’t. It will not be beautiful. It will not be brave. It will be selfish. It will be broken. Your mother will cry. 2. Don’t write for him. Write for you. Write for others like you. Write so the girl that thinks about stepping in front of public transportation doesn’t....
May 22nd
80,124 notes
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May 22nd
233 notes
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May 22nd
3,822 notes
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May 21st
2 notes
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May 21st
30,067 notes
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May 21st
1,096 notes
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Hi, anon! Great question. The church I work at belongs to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. This denomination permits (officially as of 2009) people in “publicly-accountable lifelong monogamous same-gender relationships” to serve as pastors. Lots of ELCA congregations have openly gay pastors, staff, members, and families. I have always made it clear in my ordination process (and...
May 21st
4 notes
3 tags
May 20th
4 notes
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May 20th
10 notes
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Emily Yoffe: My Husband's Other Wife: She Died,... →
Maybe when my husband and I get old, memories of his life with Robin will become even more vivid than our years together. If so, I hope I’ll welcome those memories. I’m grateful to Robin, not jealous (even if she left it to me to convince our joint husband that the laundry hamper was invented for a reason). I knew my husband for only four months before we got married. But I heard from...
May 19th
6 tags
Terrorism and the Public Imagination →
The shooting of nineteen innocent people, including two children, at a Mother’s Day celebration in New Orleans yesterday was an act of violence only gaudy enough to hold the nation’s attention momentarily. Shortly after the bodies were cleared, the FBI said they “have no indication the shooting was an act of terrorism. ‘It’s strictly an act of street violence in New...
May 19th
2 notes
May 19th
1 note
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A Pentecost Poem, by Cheryl Lawrie
A Pentecost Poem by Cheryl Lawrie come to think of it… actually, your spirit is not really like a flickering candle sitting on the altar, which we’ve protected from scorching with a heat proof mat you burn with irrepressible, ferocious passion. in truth, your spirit has little in common with the gentle breeze from the fan fluttering the bulletins as it rotates from the front pews during the...
May 18th
2 notes
3 tags
May 18th
73,190 notes
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Why I Made My Teenager Go to Church →
In this age when the “spiritual but not religious” seem to have more relevance than churchgoers, it’s easy to wonder why church attendance matters at all. But I believe that we need common spaces, more grounded than the corner Starbucks, to discern right actions in a world faced with crises like climate change and stark economic disparities.
May 18th
2 notes
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May 18th
5 notes
7 tags
Listenlegitimate-diversion: The Schmuel Song - The...
May 17th
6 notes
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The Unexpected Antidote to Procrastination →
Stop avoiding tough tasks and start cultivating your resilience What really struck me though, was what they had in common. No matter how good, how experienced, how graceful they were on the wave, every surfer ended their ride in precisely the same way: By falling. Some had fun with their fall, while others tried desperately to avoid it. And not all falls were failures — some fell into the water...
May 17th
1 note
5 tags
Hyperbole and a Half: Depression Part Two →
And that’s the most frustrating thing about depression. It isn’t always something you can fight back against with hope. It isn’t even something — it’s nothing. And you can’t combat nothing. You can’t fill it up. You can’t cover it. It’s just there, pulling the meaning out of everything. That being the case, all the hopeful, proactive solutions start...
May 17th
7 notes
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May 17th
1 note
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theodoragoss: “There are many forms of love and affection, some people can spend their whole lives together without knowing each other’s names. Naming is a difficult and time-consuming process; it concerns essences, and it means power. But on the wild nights who can call you home? Only the one who knows your name.” —Jeanette Winterson
May 17th
11 notes
5 tags
what seems to help in the midst of pain →
“when we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand. the friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate...
May 17th
2 notes
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“The sect-church process appears so unstoppable because humans seem to have...”
– Finke and Stark, The Churching of America, 282-283 I am not sure I agree with this.  But it makes me think about how I want to lead a church, and that makes it worthwhile reading.
May 17th
3 notes
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“I took my morning walk, I took my evening walk, I ate something, I thought about...”
– House of Leaves, Mark D. Danielewski (via theresarocksyoursocks)
May 16th
15 notes
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May 16th
2,675 notes
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May 16th
18,574 notes
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May 15th
1,179 notes
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Church Cliques, Lego Blocks and Making Room for... →
We can’t be everything to everyone. But we will be something to everyone. We can choose to live in the generosity of God’s love or in the poverty of our limitations, and it matters what we choose. So what if you can’t go out to coffee with her every week? That’s fine. Go once. Listen. Ask questions. Maybe you won’t end up sharing your deepest, darkest secrets with that couple in the lobby,...
May 15th
4 notes
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Rev. Meg Riley: Minnesota Marriage Equality: Top... →
8.  A huge multi-faith coalition of people of faith was absolutely essential to the victory. While I am proud of the long-standing support of my clan, Unitarian Universalists, for marriage equality, my hat is off to the Evangelical Lutherans on this one. In Minnesota, they made all the difference. And the vocal Catholics who stood up to the leadership of their faith were deeply inspiring. ...
May 15th
20 notes
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May 15th
98 notes
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thelovelyloner: Today’s affirmation: It’s okay for me to feel exactly how I feel right now.
May 15th
1,107 notes
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May 14th
12 notes
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May 13th
34 notes
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May 10th
24,557 notes
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May 10th
35,274 notes
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“But you know what is devastating? Living a life you don’t really want because...”
– Brianna Wiest (via internal-acceptance-movement)
May 9th
3,523 notes
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May 9th
1,004 notes
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May 9th
852 notes
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May 9th
7,466 notes
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May 8th
66,455 notes
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“We can’t jump off bridges anymore because our iPhones will get ruined. We can’t...”
– Jeremy Glass, We Can’t Get Lost Anymore (via foreveragoforemma)
May 8th
92,279 notes
2 tags
calmingmanatee.com →
May 8th
1 note
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PROGRESSIVE CLERGY WHO LACK THE MORAL COURAGE TO...
everydayimpastoring:
May 7th
50 notes
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May 6th
154 notes
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“The reason people don’t go for help is because there is still stigma. People...”
– Maria Bamford (via lavenderlabia)
May 5th
2,633 notes