By Timothy Peoples My favorite poem is “won’t you celebrate with me” by Lucille Clifton. (If you’ve ever been to my office, it is taped to the door as you enter.) This week I did a deep dive into Clifton’s poems, and they spoke to me like Scripture. I could say they...
By Darren DeMent Our opening and closing hymns this morning use very different language to describe God and our relationship to God. Consider some of these words and phrases from “How Great Thou Art”: Great ... awesome wonder ... rolling thunder ... power ... mountain...
By Charlie Fuller Just a few days ago I attended a funeral at the National Cemetery over on the west side of town. While the heat was almost beyond description, there were other forms of discomfort there as well. There was the discomfort of a grieving family and...
By Georgia McKee “It is well with my soul” — a Southern staple when it’s painted on shiplap and snagged for 40% off at Hobby Lobby. My Facebook memories reminded me this week that I had today’s anthem hanging in my bedroom throughout high school and all the way...
By Heather Mustain Around here we’ve always called the start of our fall year “Promotion Sunday” — that being today. It means very little, honestly, particularly for adults — because well, we don’t actually “promote.” However, we never stop aging, despite our best...
By LeAnn Hampton Today in worship we are reminded of the new beginnings all around us. Students with backpacks signal the start of the school year and a change from the summer routine. Participating in the family dedication for R.J. Murphy gives us the opportunity to...
By Katie Murray We started a family practice a couple of years ago where we take a few days to get out of town and visit the Texas Hill Country before school starts. Our kids have caught on to this rhythm, and our few days of swimming, eating s’mores every night and...
By Ava McClung This past week has been a busy one for me, and I doubt I’m the only one. Between travel, errands, work, camps, visiting family and friends, shopping for school supplies and trying to maintain some semblance of a routine, summer can be exhausting. I find...
By Juliana Moore We are in the middle of summer, aren’t we? The heat has arrived, and some of us are scattered hither and yon, as my grandmother would say. I find that these “lazy days of summer” are anything but lazy. My past month has been filled with travel and...
By R.G. Huff I have to admit that I did not choose to write this preparation for worship based on the Gospel reading from which Timothy is preaching today. While the Richard Strauss ballet Salome is based on it, the beheading of Jesus’ cousin is not one of those...