Monthly Archives: October 2019

New from the Republic of Georgia — guest post

Posted on October 31, 2019 by Maren

Glad for this news passed on from Archbishop Malkhaz Songulashvili, a friend and Baptist cleric from the Republic of Georgia. Dear Friends, Some months ago I accepted an invitation from the Shrine of Imam Hussein in Karbala to give a … Continue reading →

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Doing Laps

Posted on October 30, 2019 by Maren

I go to the swimming pool. It’s five thirty in the morning and I see “regulars” who know a lot about each other’s strokes. but a new young man in the third lane swims fast lap after fast lap, then … Continue reading →

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Prayer for the California Fires

Posted on October 28, 2019 by Maren

A woman comes to me crying during coffee hour after church — “Do you remember my daughter got married in California five weeks ago?” “Of course, I do.” She shows me a photograph of blazing fire — “This, this is … Continue reading →

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Prayer after the Shooting in Greenville Texas

Posted on October 27, 2019 by Maren

God, we remember with confidence the promise that your home is the one with so many rooms, but this is not the homecoming that we would wish. We pray for tender comfort to surround those who mourn, for gifts of … Continue reading →

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Prayer after the shooting in Chita, Siberia

Posted on October 25, 2019 by Maren

God, who holds each soldier of every country tenderly in so many times of risk, be in the midst of those who never expected a colleague to open fire upon them. Comfort those who have lost a friend, member of … Continue reading →

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Take Back Day

Posted on October 25, 2019 by Maren

Tomorrow I’m taking it back — pain killers for my knee replacement, the Beta blocker I didn’t want, that amoxicillin of jurassic lineage, inhalers from the days when I wondered if I would ever breathe deeply. But I wish we … Continue reading →

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Guest Post — Spirit Prayers by Dr. Devoree Clifton Crist

Posted on October 24, 2019 by Maren

I had the pleasure to read the manuscript in process which became Spirit Prayers — Invitations to Worship for Home or Faith Community by Dr. Devoree Clifton Crist, medical doctor, Christian Educator and Spiritual Director. She wrote them for Webster … Continue reading →

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Sparrows and Peacocks

Posted on October 21, 2019 by Maren

Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my Monarch, my God. Psalm 84: 3 The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying … Continue reading →

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We are all Baltimore, again today (Elijah Cummings, 1951-2019)

Posted on October 17, 2019 by Maren

All of us who do not live in Baltimore the 7th congressional district maligned and mis-tweeted that Elijah Cummings loved, all of us who are not congresswomen of color whom Elijah Cummings defended, all of us who did not grow … Continue reading →

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Creation Litany — Guest Post by Martha Peck

Posted on October 17, 2019 by Maren

Season of Creation Litany based on Ecclesiastes 3 For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven. God, we face so many choices, and we feel pulled in every direction. Be with us in our … Continue reading →

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