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Me

WHAT I DO: Pastor, Community Organizing, Justice Advocacy, Parent, Spouse, General Adulting Stuff

THINGS I ENJOY: Good food. No. I mean REALLY good food. Being a Presbyterian. Movies. Jazz. A really friendly local coffee shop with free WiFi

DISCLAIMER

Contents may be inflammatory. If you suffer from 100% confidence in the what you learned in childhood, or 100% doctrinal certitude, or if you don't like it when someone nudges your metaphorical cheese, consult somebody else.

Recent Posts

  • Filed Under: Things They Never Taught Me In Seminary
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  • Reparations and Repentance, part 1
  • Reconciliation Ambassadors
  • What it means to be “woke”: An activist’s confession for this time
  • Follow the Magi
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  • Things that Make for Peace: Thoughts on a Department of Violence Prevention

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  • About
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  • Sermons
    • A Message from the Grave
    • Ah, Lord God!
    • Can I Get A Witness?
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    • Following Jesus: The Chaos of Discipleship
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    • Magically Transformed: Eastertide Sermon Series
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    • The Boring Story of the Prodigal Son
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  • Weddings
    • 13 Coin Blessing (Arras)
    • A Christian Wedding Reflection
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    • Lasso Blessing
    • Non-religious simple, multicultural ceremony
    • Sample Bilingual Spanish Non-Religious Ceremony

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Category: church

More Than a Bumper Sticker
church, community, immigration, Justice, politics, preaching, sermon, Suffering

More Than a Bumper Sticker

Charged with the responsibility of behaving toward each other the way God behaved through history toward them, they were failing. Miserably. And when Micah spoke, this wasn’t a new teaching. And they knew it. Continue reading More Than a Bumper Sticker

When We (White, CISgender people) Plan Things
church, community, covenant network, interdenominational, Justice, lgbtq, more light, pcusa, UNCO

When We (White, CISgender people) Plan Things

Today, and in light of everything that faces trying-to-be-progressive Christians in our country at this time, this letter and what it means is really the straw that has broken this particular camel’s back. So… Continue reading When We (White, CISgender people) Plan Things

Sideways
church, community, Election, hope, Justice, Oakland, pcusa, presbyterian

Sideways

These are my opening remarks from the #120hours Interfaith Vigil to #ReclaimMLK Radical Legacy. It was stormy. The wind was blowing and it … Continue reading Sideways

God is With Us, Calling Us Still
church, community, Election, Oakland, paradigm shift

God is With Us, Calling Us Still

This letter was sent to the folks at First Presbyterian Church of Oakland on the day after the General Election … Continue reading God is With Us, Calling Us Still

Credibility Gap
church, community, hope, interdenominational, Justice, Oakland, pcusa, preaching, presbyterian, sermon

Credibility Gap

A Sermon preached on September 25, 2016 Based on James 2:14-18, The Belhar Confession and The Letter from a Birmingham … Continue reading Credibility Gap

This Day
church, community, Justice, lgbtq, Oakland, pcusa, preaching, presbyterian, sermon, Suffering

This Day

What does it mean to be a citizen? What does it mean to be a productive participant in our society? There is a checklist and unfortunately, the items on that list have typically been determined by people with privilege – the privilege of whiteness, the privilege of maleness, the privilege of heteronormative lifestyle, the privilege of economic power. Continue reading This Day

Baby Food for Fools
church, community, Justice, paradigm shift, pcusa, preaching, presbyterian, sermon

Baby Food for Fools

…though their world lay in shattered ruins around them, they still thought of themselves as righteous bringers of peace… as God’s chosen healers of a broken world. Continue reading Baby Food for Fools

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