I got up not too early on this Christmas Day, 2019 after a late night Christmas Eve service. I got my daughter the meds she needs and sat down at her bedside to keep watch, read, and pray. As in most mornings, song lyrics were running through my mind. This morning the lines were, “Why […]
Dad took us to see the Shrine Circus when it came to town. My father, playful and listening? I took it whenever it came, but I didn’t trust it much. I never knew how long it might last. I had never been to the circus before. As I said, Dad taking us somewhere fun and […]
The global United Methodist Church, some 12 million members worldwide, represented by delegates from each area of the United States and around the world, gathered in St. Louis this past weekend to vote on a way for the denomination to continue to be the church together across a widening divide of theology as it relates […]
I just finished reading the editorial pages in this last Sunday of 2018’s New York Times. The editorials grouped under the title “Hope Isn’t Only About the Future” renewed a sputtering flame of creative writing inside me (other than sermon-writing and other writing for church work). 2018 was a hard year. I lost some heart […]
Temma was laughing last night. I awoke to her laugh–a sharp intake of air accompanied by a little shriek–a giggle that doesn’t last long, but when it does happen is usually followed by another and maybe another. Who knows what brings on these laughs? When I heard Temma in the night, I recalled our Pentecost […]
I went to hear an interview last night at Rockefeller Chapel on the campus of University of Chicago in Hyde Park. The interview, part of the Chicago Humanities Festival, was with Krista Tippet and Ta-Nehisi Coates. Along with the ticket price I received a copy of Coates’ most recent book, We Were Eight Years In […]
When was the last time I spent an entire day at home with my daughter, Temma, just the two of us? It’s been awhile. And, thus, not much time writing either, beside sermons, e-devotions, and newsletter articles. I have returned to full-time pastor work after five years working part-time in the church. When I was […]
My husband Tim and I met in an intentional Christian community in Grand Rapids, Michigan. We lived together in large households with other folks, pooled all of our resources together, worshiped, prayed, and shared our lives together. Tim and I were married in the community and the community surrounded us and held us up when […]
I wonder if I’ll ever become disciplined enough to write a blog post once a week or even once every other week? I wonder if I will ever be able to complete my book project? I take a long time and go very slowly (that’s my name, S. Lowly!). The same is true of my […]
“I’m angry,” I said to Tim. We were driving to the nearby movie theater. “Why are you angry? Did I do something that you’re angry about?” was his quick reply. “No, I’m not angry at you. I’m angry at my lack of control over where I’m at right now.” Tim began sharing his experiences of […]
