This week, in the online clergy discussions in which I participate, we have been going back and forth about the use of words in sermon illustrations. It began when one pastor noted he had used the word "nigger" when telling a story *about* someone who had said it. *He himself* was not using the word, but was illustrating how racism continues, and wanted his congregation to sit up and take note.

I came across a wonderful quote this week, from Rev. Dr. Jody Seymour at Davidson United Methodist Church in North Carolina - and it seems so perfect for starting off a new year.

"Those who journey and are not changed are nomads. Those who change without a journey are chameleons. Those who journey and are transformed by the journey are pilgrims."

Somehow, in the Christmas story, Joseph gets short shrift. Ann Weems wrote a poem called "Getting to the Front of the Stable", in which she asks "Who stuck Joseph in the back of the stable?"

This past Sunday, known in the church as Advent 3, and the Sunday coming (Advent 4) both have as a possible Gospel text the song of Mary, singing of her joy at being the mother of the son of God. Lots of sermons will be preached in the next week or so about whether or not Mary was a technical virgin, or just a very young woman; her happiness; the social justice part of the text - the mighty being brought down from their thrones, the hungry being fed and the rich sent away with nothing. All of these are important parts of the text.

On the news today, there was a report of a WalMart employee in Long Island who was trampled to death when a crowd of shoppers broke down the doors of the store, at 5 a.m. and surged in. A pregnant woman, and two other people were also injured in the stampede.

These were probably ordinary people, out early on "Black Friday", the day after Thanksgiving in the US, when stores offer huge bargains on Christmas shopping. Essentially it's the equivalent of our Boxing Day.

This week I read a newspaper article about a Christian group which had gone to China with suitcases full of Bibles to hand out. They were, of course, relieved of the Bibles upon entering the country....

Haven't been on here for awhile, but recently a couple of things came together which prompted me to blog a little again. It has to do with the issue of saints in the church. A couple of weeks ago I...

This morning, like many others, I preached on the passage from John - which has Jesus saying "I am the way, the truth, and the life." For Christians over many years, this passage has meant that there...

This morning, we celebrated Holy Humour Sunday, and had a Hawaiian theme. It's the second Holy Humour Sunday in this congregation, and everyone rose to the occasion by arriving with shirts, leis,...

Well, Easter is over, and once again I struggled with what message to bring my congregation which might make sense of the story, and in plain ordinary language. We had Matthew's version this time -...