Just Prayers booklet available

Just Prayers booklet available

If you are looking for a new resource to enhance your prayer life, or are looking for a special gift for your loved ones this holiday season, consider ordering Just Prayers! This pocket-sized book of prayers, written by women from around the church, is available when...

Finding beauty in the cold

Finding beauty in the cold

For me, fall is such a peculiar time —the sweet spot between my beloved summers and dreaded winters. My family has an ongoing joke that one fall, we’ll finally move someplace warmer and sunnier. October and November always bring that conversation back. But autumn and...

Hey, God!

Hey, God!

“A squirrel holds an acorn in its praying hands, offering thanks, it looks like. The broken shells fall on the grass, and the grass looks up and says ‘Hey.’ And the squirrel looks down and says, ‘Hey.’ I have been saying ‘Hey,’ lately too To God. Formalities just...

How to befriend someone

How to befriend someone

Friends don’t just magically appear. We make friends from among the strangers all around us. Since no two people are alike, no two people approach making friends the same way. Here are seven suggestions: Accept variations. Even Jesus, who we sing about in the hymn...

Conflict and boundaries

Conflict and boundaries

One of the first words that toddlers learn is “No,” which I used to think this was a bad thing. After all, I’m more of a “yes” person. I want to be helpful. I want to be of service. I don’t want to let people down. I learned this in my family of origin. In some ways,...

And God saw Hagar

And God saw Hagar

I did not expect to hear from the women seated in a makeshift tent at Arkoum refugee camp in eastern Chad, 43 miles from the Sudan border. On that 86-degree day last December, we met with several leaders of newly arrived Sudanese refugees. Many of these leaders were...

A priceless gift

A priceless gift

In 1993, my husband and I moved from Southern California where I’d grown up to Berkeley, where I would begin graduate school. I was excited to be on this new adventure with the man who had been my high school sweetheart. We were off on our own, and anything was...

Just prayers

Just prayers

Thank you to those who submitted prayers. You’ll find a variety of prayers for joyous or difficult times, as well as moments when you or others need reassurance. For congregations Gracious and loving God, we thank you for congregations that create sacred spaces where...

Dog days of summer

Dog days of summer

Shu-shu sprawls at my feet. She exudes a jolly, earthy grace. What a happy accident (or is it divine humor?) that “dog” is “god” spelled backwards! This dog keeps me in the now. This wasn’t my idea. She’s a 2020 COVID puppy. Our family had just moved to Albuquerque,...