The Supreme Court today unanimously (!) overturned 35 foot buffer zones to protect women from being harassed by anti-choice protesters outside women’s health clinics. (They did split 5-4 on whether there should be any buffer zones at all, but the overturning of the Massachusetts law was unanimous). There had been a 35 foot buffer zone…
I’m currently in Detroit at the General Assembly of our church. I’m here to serve as committee support for one of the committees, and am thankful for that opportunity. The church has done so much for me throughout my whole life, that it is a gift to be able to give back to her. Anyhow,…
I just read a post about the upcoming General Assembly of the PCUSA. “Shall the Fundamentalists Win“. Chris Currie, a fellow PCUSA pastor I haven’t yet met, although I hope to soon, revisits the Fundamentalist/Modernist Controversy of almost 100 years ago. His conclusion seems to be that those of us seeking marriage equality in the…
I just heard the news. Hurricanes named for women are deadlier than hurricanes with male names. Apparently, feminine named hurricanes are perceived as less threatening than masculine named storms. “People may be dying as a result of the femininity of a hurricane (name),” says Sharon Shavitt, a professor of marketing at Illinois and a co-author…
A sermon preached on Pentecost at Southminster Presbyterian Church in Boise, Idaho June 8, 2014 Acts 2:1-21 Today we celebrate the birthday of the church, as we remember the day the Spirit descended and helped a bunch of disparate Jesus followers coalesce and come together with one purpose—to proclaim the good news of God, regardless…
This post is a few months old. But today (July 23) a friend had an interesting encounter at the Post Office in Meridian, Idaho. Here was there interaction, as she reported it on Facebook: Could I please get some stamps? “Yes, which ones would you like?” Do you have any Harvey Milk stamps? “Yes, but…
This is another post about the upcoming General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church USA. There is an overture headed to General Assembly’s Civil Unions and Marriage Committee that would seek to pull clergy out of civil marriage altogether. I am sympathetic to Lehigh Presbytery’s intention. I stopped signing state marriage licenses a few years ago.…
A sermon preached at Southminster Presbyterian Church in Boise, Idaho on Ascension Sunday, June 1, 2014. Acts 1:1-11 This past Thursday the church calendar celebrated the Ascension, which is the 40th day after Easter, when the church commemorates the Ascension of Christ into Heaven. We live in a world where people do not get carted…
(Warning–this is a post for people who are interested in the upcoming General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA). Be advised, there will be insider language and lingo.) The 221st General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) meets in a few weeks in Detroit. I will be there as support staff for one of the…
A sermon preached at Southminster Presbyterian Church in Boise, Idaho. May 18, 2014 Acts 4:5-21 John 21:15-17 The day before our story begins, as we heard last week, Peter and John were walking into the Temple in Jerusalem and a lame beggar, who had sat at the gate every day for years, asked them for…
Glass Overflowing 