This Day in History

70 years ago today, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan.

50 years ago today, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law.

Each day, we get to choose which values we will live out:
Violence - or nonviolence?
Destruction - or democracy?
Death - or life?

My friends, let us choose life. In all its complicated, messy, painful glory. In all its beautiful, transcendent, infuriating mystery.

Choose life, not just for yourself or for some, but life abundant and eternal, with liberty and justice for all, with compassion and hope for all, with beauty and wholeness and joy for each person, each nation, each ecosystem of this amazing universe that God created.

I believe that is how we draw close to God, by drawing closer to each other, by seeing God's divine image in each face, by recognizing each person as our sister, our brother. By listening to the cries of those who suffer and taking action for love and justice and healing.

Choose life. It isn't always easy, but it's the best way forward.

Book Review: Pray Like a Gourmet

Pray Like a Gourmet: Creative Ways to Feed Your Soul, by David Brazzeal
Reviewed by Kerry Greenhill

I am a prayer book junkie. I love books on prayer and spirituality – I love buying them, love reading them, and sometimes I even put them into practice. Sometimes. So while I liked the premise of Pray Like a Gourmet: Creative Ways to Feed Your Soul, I didn’t expect to learn much that was new, or gain insights I hadn’t heard before. I was pleasantly surprised.

The extended metaphor of prayer as a meal we can enjoy in God’s company works on many levels. I have to admit, the first couple chapters I was resisting the author’s style and found it a little cheesy. But that may say more about my inherent skepticism than a flaw in the writing.

The insight I found most intriguing is the idea that you can plan your prayer time – like a menu – based on types of prayer (praise, confession, lament, joining, etc.) and modes of expression (writing, music, movement). I realized that my unexamined expectation was that you schedule your prayer time, then it just happens – maybe with words, maybe with silence, but spontaneously, as the Spirit leads. I like the idea that the Spirit can lead you through planning a richer, more diverse, and more creative combination of approaches than whatever your default is.

I also appreciated the specific suggestions for how to experiment with the different types and modes of prayer. There are lots of ideas for practical application here, along with sound theology that leaves room for readers of a variety of perspectives.

I love the high-quality paper and full-color artwork that graces the pages. One minor frustration was that some of the text is in yellow or orange, making it difficult to read. Fortunately, these are generally only a word or phrase here and there, so it doesn't interfere significantly with the book's readability.


Ultimately, I found Pray Like a Gourmet to be an interesting, accessible read that would work well for individual or group study. I commend it to all who are seeking to expand or deepen their prayer life.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the author and/or publisher through the Speakeasy blogging book review network. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR,Part 255.

When You Stop Walking on Water

For those stepping out of parish ministry

The rhythms are different
this side of the pulpit.
Like walking ashore
after hours
or weeks
on rocking waves,
your sea legs may persist awhile,
unsteadying your gait
and haunting your dreams
with the sensation of motion
in the midst of unmoving crowds.

You will look up at the night sky
and forget you do not have to plot a course
between the rocks and the reef,
charting seasons and casting stories
by force of longstanding habit.

You may not miss the grueling hours
or the demands of captaining your crew,
the churn of stomach in stormy waters
or the constant vigilance for dangers hidden
just below the surface,
but at times you will look out upon the shining, shifting ocean
and find yourself unmoored by dazzling splendor
or grim eternity,
the tides that keep on changing
while you are standing still.

There are blessings in this landlubber's life,
as all the throngs who never went to sea
can easily testify.
But have patience with yourself
as you relearn how to walk on solid ground.
For you have seen beyond the horizon
and you yet carry with you
the knowledge of winds and weather,
rising and falling,
harnessing the elements
to move through time and space.

Here, too, is Sabbath
and starlight
and soaring toward mystery,
even in stillness.
Even on land.

© 2014 Kerry Greenhill

A Blessing for Those Beginning a New Ministry Appointment

to be read with the tongue positioned gently in the cheek

May your car start easily and your keys turn smoothly to open the church doors;
may your accompanist arrive early and your liturgist be on time.
May you accurately gauge the height of chancel steps and the length of your robe,
and may your microphone amplify your voice without ear-splitting feedback.
May your sermon notes remain in order and your mouth not get too dry;
may your insights find a landing place in ears and hearts and minds.
May your congregation welcome you with grace and hospitality,
and wait until you’ve learned their names before triangulating you in their drama.
May your preaching be genuine and your own heart be fully present,
and may the Holy Mystery surround and fill and meet you in this new place,
today and each day that you are here.

© 2014 Kerry Greenhill

Water Breaks

Another new year, another renewed commitment to writing. But this year I have a plan, and even with a baby on the way, I really will make it happen!

Here's a prayer-poem for the Baptism of Jesus, which is this Sunday. 

Water Breaks

Frozen, it expands

until it cannot be contained

by pipes too fixed and firm

in their places. 

Rushing, it roars 

through canyons and down streambeds

washing away dust, 

mud, rock, road,

truck, house, church, 

town. 

Pulsing, it pours

or trickles down the legs

after months of suspending 

a growing miracle

as another woman 

crosses the threshold

toward meeting her descending child. 

Lapping, it opens

as a man's head emerges

from the quiet murky mystery

into shimmering, dove-shaped

light. 

Dripping and dancing, it blesses

infant, child, youth, adult

with the grace that goes before us, 

tearing down walls 

between sisters and brothers,

smashing the chains of alienation,

anger, judgment, fear, 

addiction, apathy, despair,

and death. 

May the water within you

and around you

break 

in ways that make life

and wholeness

more possible each day. 

Permission is granted to use this prayer-poem in worship. Please acknowledge with (c) Kerry Greenhill, 2014.