Category Archives: My Life as Pastor

The Remarkable Sound of Silence

Posted on April 5, 2019 by

Many years ago, when I was a second year divinity school student trying to figure out what sort of ministry was the right path for me, I took a field education assignment at a local church, after a year spent … Continue reading →

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The Dreaded Funeral and Its Dreadful Portents

Posted on March 22, 2019 by

It doesn’t happen often, thank goodness, and less often than it happened in my first years at Old South: leading a funeral/memorial service for someone I’ve never met. In the almost fifteen years of serving Old South, I occasionally discover … Continue reading →

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The Not So Graceful Art of Treading Water

Posted on January 9, 2019 by

The typical routine of life at Old South Church means that the Advent and Christmas seasons are followed not so much by the season of Epiphany, but the season of Annual Meeting—finalizing the budget, figuring out and nominating a slate … Continue reading →

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When Right Is Wrong (or, if not exactly wrong, not exactly right either)

Posted on August 7, 2018 by

Perhaps in response to a humid, but dry, summer in Maine, much of my reading this season has involved a lot of cold and ice. After watching the AMC series “The Terror” in the spring, I read the book by … Continue reading →

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Summer’s Here and the Livin’ Ain’t So Easy

Posted on July 2, 2018 by

Summer has arrived in Maine, finally. As the weather heats up, the overall tone and mood seem to be heating up as well. On the national and local stage, the news is difficult, even crushing—for those who are not fans … Continue reading →

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Can I Ban Remember When?

Posted on June 19, 2018 by

Like any church with a lot of long-time members, and certainly like any church that is the midst of the Mainline decline, it’s a fairly common occurrence to hear the construction “remember when” at the start of a sentence or … Continue reading →

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Call and Circumstance

Posted on June 2, 2018 by

In the year King Uzziah died . . . So begins the sixth chapter of Isaiah, in which Isaiah is called as a prophet. In reading Isaiah’s call story, it’s easy to get caught up in the wild elements of … Continue reading →

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