Spirit of the divine masculine, grant us the strength to nurture in ourselves, and in every young person we have the privilege to know, the gifts of patience, curiosity, and compassion.

Fear not, the angels would text me. Hallelujah, I’d write back.

Let us open all our senses and let our synapses spark one connection after another.

God of our ancestors, may we find the ways in which we can connect across generations.

We are the hands and feet of love. And sometimes its fingernails, too.

We hold space for all that Father's Day may mean to us.

Love shows up in complicated conversations.

Every time we open ourselves to one another, we become more human.

We give thanks to the Sacred, woven in and among us, for the teachers, youth advisors, youth mentors, and parents in our community.

We have a holy obligation to bring about paradise on this earth; each generation helps us do that.

Motherhood must be a choice. It cannot be chosen for us.

May we forever perceive the ways we can empower others.

Happy kids are safer kids, because happy kids have adults they can ask for help.

Each Advent, my empathy for Mary’s situation returns.

Acknowledging that our dream was not happening didn't end the grief, but it did offer closure.

For all that we’ve learned; for all that we’ve lost; for the healing we need.

Sometimes it feels like Father’s Day is more about enshrining a myth than it is about facing the realities of fatherhood.

Spirit of Life, remind me to release that which no longer serves me so that I may be present to joy.

Sometimes love is simply letting someone else like what they like.

We cannot begin to find ourselves without love.

It can be a lonely time for those of us whose arms are empty.

Can I do it again? Do I even dare? Do I have the strength? Because the cradle might be empty—again.

This is a "love saves" story.

This year, the Advent season seems particularly seized by a spirit of the expected, the longing.

Make sure, both at Christmastime and in other times, that you ask for that which you really want.

We seek blessed assurance through pandemic chaos, relentless loss, and unimaginable stress.

We teach girls to be likeable, to be nice, to be false. And we do not teach boys the same. This is dangerous.

In these days of so much uncertainty, may we choose honesty over comfort, love over complacency, and truth over convenience.

One day, I’ll have to care for my mother as she once cared for me. I’m not ready to handle the truth that our relationship must change.

This is a prayer for working parents zooming another meeting with a little face joining in; for new parents, waiting for new life without support; for the single parents, doing all this alone.

What once seemed certain is now unpredictable, even dangerous.

The assumption that all people remember the same set of events, or enjoy the same set of things, puts enormous burdens of assimilation onto members of marginalized communities.

Our conversations about the history of our country—the actions of our ancestors—can be made new and relevant and understandable. We can and must have these conversations.

Sometimes, I know I'm hanging onto a part of my life that I'll eventually need to let go of...but not just yet.

an original retelling Daedalus was a brilliant inventor, and he had made a career, even a legend of himself for being able to create the seemingly impossible. So when he decided to escape from his tower prison by flying over the ocean like a bird, his son, Icarus, had no doubt he would do it. It...

Before I birthed my baby, he was a possibility, a kick against my insides. With that first cry, first breath, he became a person in the world.

[Written for two voices, here set for Worship Association (WA) and Minister (M)] WA: Perhaps some here have outgrown mystery. Maybe you have doubts about Santa, Or have forgotten the magic of a newborn child. M: One might easily lose touch with awe, In the struggle to do it all, Or simply to...

Today we kick off Religious Education classes with [over number registered] children and youth in our congregation. [Number of volunteers] adult volunteers carry the sacred privilege and responsibility of journeying beside them on our behalf....

Sometimes grief sends notice ahead of time; sometimes, it shows up as an unwelcome, uninvited guest.

Minister: The cultural and ethnical diversity in our region shapes our mission of providing religious education that is meaningful and relevant to our members and community. Our faith is a living one, co-created by the promises we make and keep. It is enlivened when we lift up all of the voices,...

My four-year-old daughter has taught me this lesson: when a child wants to derail Business As Usual— to curb the hubris of adults who dare believe in schedules and plans and productivity— one fierce little body and one clear, piercing voice, strategically applied to the right pressure point,...

I was a foster parent long before I was a mom, and an inside look at families "in the system" reveals pretty quickly that love and parenthood are two different qualities, and the relationship between them is neither straightforward nor guaranteed....

As I go to sleep tonight, Please, love, hug my family tight. With stars and moon so big and bright Love shines round me like a light. As I go to sleep tonight, Please, love, hug my family tight. Can be sung to the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star"...

Who are you going to be, today? And tomorrow? Who are we all becoming, together?

We can’t always predict which choices will wind up having a huge impact on us, whether it's bringing home a stuffed animal or taking a particular train to Oxford Circus.

When I internalize cultural messages about the definitions of success or failure—or anything, really—I undermine my own sense of self-worth.

I saw a woman surrounded by the pressures to conform to adulthood, being the adult she always wanted to be when she was a child. She was as God made her, not who everyone else wanted her to be.

Despite being warmly welcomed over and over by the greeters, by the family sitting behind me, and by the lead pastor, I couldn’t shake that “guest” feeling.

Traditions and habits can be changed or broken and that’s not always bad. It doesn’t mean we didn’t learn or like what we did in the past, it just means that we moved on to something else and that’s okay too.

In real life, sometimes grief looms largest in December. Sometimes there's one too many dress-ups and the gold tulle makes your legs itch. “I just needed it to stop for a minute. Next time I will take calm breaths.”