Devotional

“On this day, in 1709, a small group of Cisterian nuns was dispersed and exiled from their French convent,” I read on some “On This Day” list. Why did this […]

Five women stand before Moses and all the powerful men of their community. They accuse these men of enforcing sexist practices, saying, “Daughters deserve a part of their father’s inheritance. […]

I have an app that grants its users virtual rewards for performing real self-care tasks. “Wake up!” it chirps at me each morning, followed by “Make your bed!” and “Enjoy […]

Once when my middle-school daughter was nervous about speaking in public, I gave her timeless advice: “Just picture the crowd in their underwear.” With a quick wit, she responded, “But […]

My wife often proclaims, “We are not red people or blue people, we are God’s people!” These days, when she starts this sentence from the pulpit, her congregation recites it […]

A friend of mine said her garden looked sad in a particular corner that was shaded. No blooms, even though there were blooms abundant elsewhere in the garden. I have […]

Why would you ever talk to them? There are lots of those folks. The writer of Mark calls them “tax collectors.” I have other names for them. You do, too. Just imagine […]

I was tempted to skip this particular passage, or to follow it with nothing but a blank devotional—the visual version of a woman being silent in church. But instead, I’d […]

In May, I was blessed to go to Japan through the UCC Board of Global Ministries. I studied the rich and complex history of the church in Japan, volunteered with […]