Category: Uncategorized

A prayer for creativity

O God,
You have created the universe,
amazing and astonishing in its infinite size and diverse composition
You have created us in your image,
that we may serve you and do great things in your name.
I offer myself to you to do as you will.
Aid me in my struggles,
Remind me that you have made me for wonderful things,
Fill my heart with your Spirit that I may pour out your glory with my voice and hands,
Encourage me when I feel I have nothing,
Help me believe that it is not too late,
and that I am neither too small or too broken
to be healed.
Help me to love myself and others,
to nurture my heart and gifts and others lives,
to give myself comfort,
and uplift my fellow travelers,
That we may enrich your universe.
Help me create in your name that I may glorify you and all of creation.
Amen.

Happy Endings – Sermon on Matthew 25:1-13

Parables are parables, not prophecy. Guides and warning to living a good life. Listen carefully.
This sermon is quite a bit different from how it was written, therefore, please listen to the sermon rather than read it.  The sermon notes which are included for convenience.  

Sermon delivered at Lutheran Church of the Cross in Berkeley.

November 9 – Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost

“Happy Endings”.  Text is from  Matthew 25:1-13

Sermon audio follows:

Good morning to you my sisters and brothers in Christ, saints and sinners, children of Go

Government by dictionary

The job of the state is not to uphold the dictionary of the English language. Any argument about “changing the definition of marriage” doesn’t take into account the fact that sociologically speaking, marriage has been defined as a union between two people for some fifty years now, or that marriage rites have been performed for same-sex couples, whether blessed by the state or not, by a increasing amount of churches each and every year. The fact is the language is reflective of society’s definitions, not the other way around. Marriage already includes, legally, same-sex unions in two English speaking countries (Canada and South Africa) where the effective definition has already changed. I’m certain that debates about changing the dictionary in the great halls of Oxford and Cambridge and Webster are already well under way. What argument will these people have when the definition in the dictionary is reflective of society as a whole and the legal system?