That was me.
I will be writing about authentic welcome in the church for a while. Welcome is a spiritual discipline that asks us to look into new futures, but also to enact some deeply held and deeply respected...
View ArticleForget your perfect offering
In his song, “Anthem” Leonard Cohen sings, “Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” For many of us, perfectionism is an ongoing struggle. I would...
View ArticleFlap Your Wings
Sometimes the conversation for disability justice within spiritual community feels like a monumental task. It might be something akin to that moment when the miller’s daughter is asked to spin that...
View ArticleWhat time is it?
What time is it? Good question. One of the side effects of my cerebral palsy is that I have trouble telling distances apart. One example of this is clocks with analog faces. The short hand is the hour....
View ArticleAbleist Metaphors In Worship: Why It Matters
Guide my feet while I run this race, Except I don’t run. My feet don’t work all that well. Where is my part in this? In the past few weeks, out of my regular routine, I have encountered ableism in...
View ArticleWe Hung Up Our Harps And Cried
When I think of the things that happen to people with disabilities in secret, there is no easy framework of meaning and comfort. Over seventy people with disabilities have been killed by their parents...
View ArticleThe Bleeding Edge
Recently, my friend Jacqueline taught me a new expression. Sometimes, when things are as far out as people can imagine, we call that the cutting edge. Jacqueline taught me that the bleeding edge is...
View ArticleWhen the Golden Rule Fails
Recently, a friend of mine in their wheelchair had a walking person push past them in order to use the accessible stall. My friend showed patience and civility, but still ended up having to wait for...
View ArticleWhich are the good gifts?
Recently, I wrote about how the Golden Rule doesn’t always clarify for people how they should treat people with disabilities The main reason that’s true is that people can experience fear and disgust...
View ArticleIs it all right for white people to participate with Black Lives Matter?
Recently, someone asked me a question about the participation of white people in the Black Lives Matter movement: Is it cultural appropriation? Thank you for asking, friend. White people have a call to...
View ArticleOn Not Stinking Up The Place or Going Fragrance-Free
In many Jesus stories, the way things turned out, usually well, was completely unpredictable from the way the story began. It was almost as though Jesus’s friends could have prepared themselves best if...
View ArticleIs the God Life for whoever can get there?
Chelsea Jay is a 24-year old model in the United Kingdom. She is the Director of Disability for Models of Diversity, a campaign to include a wide variety of bodies in the media people see every day....
View ArticleWhat does relentless love look like?
What is the relentless love of God like? The gospel of Luke says it is a laser-focused love that knows and perceives each person for who they are. It is like a shepherd with 100 curly-wooled sheep who...
View ArticleInvite the misfits
“Next time you have the opportunity,” Jesus taught, “when you are having a dinner for friends,” invite the misfits from the wrong side of the tracks. You’ll be a blessing, and you’ll be blessed.” (Luke...
View ArticleActivism, Nurture, Community: This Is My Body, Which Is For You
March 12 is the 26th anniversary of the Capitol Crawl, one of the most significant events in disability history. Michael Winter, former director of the Berkeley Center for Independent Living, had this...
View ArticleThat Small Voice
Last week, I was approved by the credentialing body of my denomination; that is, the panel agreed that I am ready to begin professional ministry. It was really exciting, and also a moment in which I...
View ArticleThe shortest verse
I remember being a kid and finding out that the shortest verse in the King James Bible was John 11:35, “Jesus wept.” I was fascinated with how short it was. I was a teenager when I realized the...
View ArticleThose Who Grieve Deeply
CW: Pulse shooting, grief “The thing is,” my friend said recently, “Jesus can’t really help me with the way being human involves making mistakes. Because They never made any.” But Jesus did die...
View ArticleNo more loyal love, no more compassion
Have you ever cried so much that you run out of tears? The post I offered previous to this was about the splendid promise of grief. And, still, we are flooded by a tide of violence that does not...
View ArticleMilwaukee and the Space Between
What is the name for the thing that happens when people ask you to do as they say, not as they do? What is the name of the thing that happens when people have a promise and a duty and they not only...
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