Author Archives: Pastor Catharine

April 30, 2023 Have you ever come across troubling passages in the gospels that you either choose to ignore or make excuses for what happens in the account?   Particularly if the thing that troubles you is something about Jesus; something that shows Him as less than tranquil, less than divine, less than perfect; something that,Continue reading “Rules”

April 9, 2023 Oh to breathe again!  After all the heavy self-reflection of Lent, the somber spiritual grieving of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, the silence of the sealed tomb of Holy Saturday, we have a definite need to breathe!   Those last words Jesus uttered from the cross on Friday can put us in a placeContinue reading “Spiritual CPR”

April 8, 2023 I have been privileged to sit at the bedside of many people at the time of their deaths.   I have listened to their breathing as I held their hands.  I have stood on the periphery of the families as they surrounded their loved one.   I have listened to words of leave taking,Continue reading “Last Breaths”

March 26, 2023 Something has really been bugging me this Lenten season.   I have tried to ‘let it go’, but no luck.  I have run my thoughts by some of my friends in the classes I facilitate and participate in only to make everyone a bit uncomfortable. Still, I just can’t seem to let itContinue reading ” Is It Worth It, No Matter What?”

March 13, 2023 I believe we are going through a time of great spiritual weirdness right now.   People are co-opting Christ by using Christianity as a battering ram for personal agendas and man ’splaining/woman ’splaining Jesus’ teachings to validate whatever they choose to belief.  Jesus has been put in a ‘human Jesus box’ of sorts –Continue reading “Letting Go”

February 20, 2023 I can’t believe Lent’s almost here!  It’s that time in the church year when we’re invited to reflect on Christ’s sacrificial love for us and sit in the profundity of that sacrifice. The Lenten journey starts with Ash Wednesday when we recall the stark truth of our own mortality.  “Remember that you are dust andContinue reading “Carrying the Cross: Have We Misunderstood?”

August 16, 2022 “Forgive them, Father. They don’t know what they’re doing.” (Luke 23:34) I am convinced that these are among the most powerful words ever spoken by our Lord.  They are words spoken from the cross.  Words spoken when the Lord felt most alone.  Words spoken when the Lord could see no obvious assuranceContinue reading “Quiet Eyes”

May 29, 2022 I have waited, watched, and listened as much as possible over the past couple of weeks, following the shootings at the Topps Friendly Market in Buffalo, New York, the shooting at the Geneva Presbyterian Church in Laguna Woods, California, and now at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.   I have listened forContinue reading “Diagnosticians, Clinicians, and Cheerleaders”

May 8, 2022 Mother’s Day can be a very difficult time for many who have less than Hallmark moment ‘mom’ experiences in their own lives.   I know women who avoid church on ‘the day’ because it’s too painful: they either feel left out of the celebration or find it all to be a glorified sham,Continue reading ”   So Many Mothers!”

April 17, 2022 What happens when you know you need to say something…..but you don’t?   I mean, you have your reasons, right?   You don’t want to be judgey … or be judged.  What will people think?  What will people say? Sometimes speaking truth is a fearful thing… So, sometimes we say nothing… This is where the women in Mark’s gospelContinue reading “Co-opting Christ”