I’ve started lighting a candle every time I lose something. Not when I lose something like my keys or cell phone. I light a candle when I face the kind of loss that causes grief—from the seemingly insignificant grief of the loss of time with friends during a pandemic year, to the more recognizable grief…
Wedding Ceremonies usually happen in a church or with a minister. The celebratory union of two lives is blessed by God, sealed by vows, and witnessed by family and friends. In contrast, divorces happen in a courtroom with a judge. There is no blessing, a gavel seals, and few witnesses attend. Society’s exaltation of love…
I teach theology and Bible at Nyack College, a Christian school. I was a pretty run-of-the-mill vanilla prof until I found a passion for Christian history and liturgy. I soon realized a call to bring unity among the three Christian traditions (Orthodox, Protestant and Roman Catholic) through mutual understanding. That’s when I started teaching what…
Authority is a hard topic for women, especially women in the church. What does it mean to have authority and to act in our authority as women? Too often, a woman in authority is called bossy rather than authoritative. We don’t want the bossy label, but how do we act in our God-given authority? More…
When I was a kid, I impressed the neighborhood boys with my ability to lift cinderblocks, climb trees, and run fast; I was strong. But when I played dolls, house, or school with the girls, it was never about demonstrating strength. Strength was domination, force, or power, not cooperation, design, or instruction. So I became…
When I was thirty-two, there was only one thing missing from my life, but that one thing seemed so important that the lack of it darkened all the other good. I was in a great career—I was teaching theology and Bible to college students and taking them on international trips during breaks. I loved my…
Someday, I will get to the Vatican. I just know it. I’ll stroll through St. Peter’s square, tour the museum, and visit the library. I’ll also pray in the Sistine Chapel, overshadowed by Michelangelo’s famous painting of a male God with flowing white hair, a long beard, and a muscular body. Historical artistic depictions portray…