Quote of the Week:

Some people in the crowd wake up. They demand room for bold actions. The future speaks through them. They change the world.
-Rainer Maria Rilke

Living Wage Sunday - Oct. 15th

Let Justice Roll is a living wage campaign coordinated by Faithful America, "an online community of people of faith working to build a more just and compassionate nation." The lectionary text for this week (Mark 10:17-31) is a pressing and urgent reminder of the cost of discipleship: economic justice - at the expense of our own fortunes.

Let Justice Roll has prepared some excellent resources to help in planning worship services and community events that highlight economic justice through focusing on one concrete issue: the minimum wage as a tool for poverty or a tool for prosperity. Check out this packet.

Información en español

Song of the Week

Peace, Salaam, Shalom, By Emma's Revolution

Upcoming Appearances

October
Oct. 15 at University Place (Tacoma) (map)
"What Must I Do?"

November
Nov. 19 at Yakima (map)
"Consecrate Your Blessings"

December
Dec. 24 at Highland Park (West Seattle) (map)
"My Spirit Rejoices"
(Previous published sermons preached here:
"The Thirst and the Quenching"
"Advent Sunday, 2003"
"By What Power?")

January
none presently scheduled

February
Feb. 18 at Auburn (map)
"See the Glory; Be Transformed"
(Last time preached here: Sept. 10, 2006.)

March
Mar. 18 at Ellensburg (map)
"I Once Was Lost but Now Am Found"

"We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented."

Flannel: n./adj., a fabric of various degrees of weight and fineness, made usually from loosely spun yarn.

Christian: n./adj., (1) a disciple or follower of Jesus, (2) a person who struggles to lay their life alongside the life, ministry and mission of Jesus, (3) me.

Flannel can be lots of things. It can be soft and warm - perfect for pajamas on Autumnal evenings, with hot cocoa and a fire. And it can be a work-shirt - a traditional and utilitarian piece of clothing come to symbolize a gritty working class. And, of course, it seems particularly associated with the Pacific Northwest (of the US). Interestingly, the origin of the word is uncertain, but the roots of the material reach back to a kind of coarse flannel with a long nap which is said to have been first introduced to England about the middle of the 16th century by refugees from France and the Netherlands. At once a comfort and also the attire of workers and refugees, and made from loosely spun yarns - perfect. I wish Christianity could be so described.

This is my attempt to document a developing Christian ministry.

And my attempt to wear lots of flannel.