Feather the clutch, he said. First, it was my seminary classmate who spoke these words, gently, as I destroyed the transmission of his Mazda 5 in a church parking lot in El Cerrito. And soon after, a congregant from the church where I had interned, as I blocked an intersection in downtown Juneau with a … Continue reading Feather the clutch →

But wasn’t Mary a pregnant, unmarried teenager? I remember putting these pieces together during a conversation with a few friends while we were leaving our freshman biology class. We had been talking about the only other pregnant teenager we knew – a junior whose bump had just started to show a few weeks early. She … Continue reading The Divine “Yes” to Reproductive Freedom →

I was fourteen-years-old on April 20th, 1999. It was almost the end of the school day when we heard the news that there had been a shooting at a high school in Colorado. The days that followed were strange ones. The names of the two perpetrators were everywhere, as we had yet to realize that … Continue reading gun worship and People Power →

There are people who love their suffering, or so I heard a colleague say in a sermon this past Sunday. She and I have been pulpit sharing for almost six months now, and so, I had the pleasure of listening to her message via recording along with my own congregation. These people seek to control … Continue reading The remains of hope →

I have come out on a thousand different days, and most of the time I don’t even think about it. Except for the when I did – for the hours that I, like so many other LGBTQAI+ people, spent agonizing about the specifics. What word to say? What words to use this time? Like so … Continue reading Coming Out: A Daily Practice →

There's a moment at every Catholic wedding that outs the Protestants. It wasn't intentionally designed that way, and it only occurs because the Lutherans, Methodists, and others think they (finally) understand what's going on. They hear words that are familiar, so they boldly join in (thereby distinguishing themselves from the non-religious folks, who are too … Continue reading Protect us from all anxiety →

This past week, I had the opportunity to hear a pitch for a fellowship that focuses on developing community leaders for the work of social transformation. It was more inspiring than it sounds. At the hart of the fellowship was the idea of empathy, or, as Oxford defines it, the ability to understand and share … Continue reading The limits of empathy →

On March 15, the Vatican announced that it won't bless same-sex unions, because, as they say "God does not and cannot bless sin". (Quick aside: It's interesting to consider that, after all, there is one thing the [allegedly] omnipotent creator of the universe cannot do.) This statement should have surprised no one. But it did. … Continue reading Homosexuality, homelessness, curses, and blessings →

This morning, at 7:00 am, there was a woman in a dark blue North Face jacket walking two fluffy white dogs in the pristine green space the neighborhood behind Safeway. I begin the story with her, because she must be more important than anyone else I encountered this morning. Otherwise, the story makes no sense. … Continue reading The pristine green space behind Safeway →

One day this past week, I was sitting at my desk sending an email, when my phone rang. The number that popped up was local and vaguely familiar, so I answered Hello, this is Lindsey, I said, noticing that I always sound a bit too cheerful when I answer, and wondering if it creates unrealistic … Continue reading Proclaiming the name of the dead →