I am writing this a bit early, because I know that when it is due, my life will be crazy. My daughter is getting married one week from today. She is my baby girl, the youngest of four daughters and the last one to get married. Now I know this is the happiest day of her life, but for a dad? Not so much.
Living Through Depression
Depression– melancholy, despair, and unhappiness – is one of the greatest misfortunes and it has crept into the crevices and corridors of our faith communities. Anyone so suffering should seek pastoral and/or professional counseling and stay completely committed to their healing and recovery.
Metropolitan Community Church of Baltimore Celebrates 45th Anniversary
Metropolitan Community Church of Baltimore (MCC Baltimore) will celebrate 45 years of ministry and service to the Baltimore community on May 20th and 21st. Under the theme “Positioned for Greatness,” the weekend’s events will commence with a leadership symposium on Saturday, May 20th, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Rev. Martin Espinosa, nationally recognized teacher and speaker, will facilitate the symposium, which is being presented at no cost and is open to the community. Rev. Espinosa is the senior pastor of Ray of Hope Community Church in Nashville, Tennessee. The celebration will continue Sunday, May 21st, with Rev. Espinosa as the […]
Religious Liberty and Spiritual Manipulation
A local newspaper called me this morning to ask my opinion about the “Religious Liberty” executive order signed by the president this week. I am sure my opinion was vastly different from the highly evangelical / conservative Christian views of the majority in my area. You would think as a pastor I’d be delighted to see religious liberty expanded and to see the influence of the church exerted in more intentional ways. Yeah, you might think that… but then you wouldn’t know me. Why do I think this is a bad idea? For several reasons:
Religious Liberty and Spiritual Manipulation
A local newspaper called me this morning to ask my opinion about the “Religious Liberty” executive order signed by the president this week. I am sure my opinion was vastly different from the highly evangelical / conservative Christian views of the majority in my area. You would think as a pastor I’d be delighted to see religious liberty expanded and to see the influence of the church exerted in more intentional ways. Yeah, you might think that… but then you wouldn’t know me. Why do I think this is a bad idea? For several reasons:
The Spirituality of Capitalism
I have recently found myself on a spiritual journey of sorts. I’m not sure where its leading or if in fact it is a journey at all, but it started about two years ago, with the Democratic primary process for the recent presidential election.
Trump’s America: A Pastor’s Lament
I have struggled all day. I was concerned with not alienating people, not taking sides, being pastoral. And so I held my tongue. The reality is that I am an ordained minister in the Christian Presbyterate (priesthood). I am 96 hands away from Jesus. My ordination vows included this promise: “Will you, in the exercise of your ministry, lead the people of God to faith in Jesus Christ, to participate in the life and work of the community, and to seek peace, justice, and freedom for all people?” Today I failed in that mission. Someone recently told me that as […]
Saint Larry
This week we who are in the Christian faith tradition celebrated All Saints Day. It’s a day we commemorate the lives of those people who have particularly shown through their life and witness what it means to be a faithful Christian. But are “saints” limited only to Christianity? Technically the term originated to described those who were “holy” (sanctus) in Christianity, but what if we applied that term more broadly to describe those people whose lives have shown as an example for us?
Spirit Speaks Changing Seasons
By the time this article is printed, New Light will have a new pastor. For three years, we’ve been led by Rev. Sherry Miller and Rev. Kelly Crenshaw. They have provided excellent leadership and have helped us deal with issues from our church’s past. Whether it’s an individual or an organization, we all have baggage. Maybe it’s the old “We’ve never done it that way before” line of thinking or possibly it’s the “My grandmother donated that widget, so it must stay where it is” reality. But, no matter what, these are issues that must be addressed in order to […]
Surviving Hopelessness
One of the greatest calamities to hit our communities throughout Baltimore and the surrounding communities is this whole since of hopelessness steeped in depression. Depression appears to have no particular address nor is it a respecter of persons. Moreover, hopelessness has crept into the crevices and corridors of our faith communities. Yes, feelings of hopelessness are real and for those with true diagnoses of any form of depression, one should stay on their meds, seek pastoral and/or professional counseling – staying completely committed to healing and recovery.