Exploring Faith and Community • Macalester Plymouth United Church August 27, 2020 Rev. Adam Blons The Sufi poet Rumi said: “The morning wind spreads its fresh smell. We must get up and take that in, that wind that lets us live. Breathe before it’s gone.” Air is life, and yet the air is currently at the crossroads…
Exploring Faith and Community • Macalester Plymouth United Church July 2, 2020 Rev. Adam Blons During one of my first church interviews, I learned about a partnership between a white suburban congregation and an urban African American congregation. The partnership started with a shared Bible study in people’s homes. From there it grew to pulpit exchanges, choir…
Over the last two weeks, I have been sitting with the question, “What are the behaviors of white allies in anti-racism work?”
Exploring Faith and Community • Macalester Plymouth United Church June 12, 2020 Rev. Adam Blons Some say, “Time heals all wounds.” I don’t think that’s quite right. Healing takes time but also a lot of energy. Both. That is what we are noticing again during this time Megan is recovering from surgery. Even though the surgery and her transition home went well, and she is…
Exploring Faith and Community • Macalester Plymouth United Church June 4, 2020 Rev. Corinne Freedman Ellis These last couple of weeks have been a time of incredible pain, grief, stress, and trauma in our beloved cities. The primary trauma of the senseless and tragic murder of George Floyd has given way to countless secondary traumas, as centuries of oppression are made manifest…
Exploring Faith and Community • Macalester Plymouth United Church May 9, 2020Rev. Corinne Freedman Ellis I’d been hearing the buzz about this new Brené Brown podcast, Unlocking Us , for weeks. Brown, a social work professor at the University of Houston, is known for her research on vulnerability. Her popular books include The Gifts of Imperfection and Daring Greatly . People I trusted, who I knew were having similar pandemic…
Exploring Faith and Community • Macalester Plymouth United Church April 20, 2020Rev. Corinne Freedman Ellis We are fond of the expression for this period of time, “It’s a marathon, not a sprint.” As a staff, we’ve been talking a lot about sustainability, not just in work but in life. Now that we’ve made it out of the crisis sprint, now that we…
Exploring Faith and Community • Macalester Plymouth United Church April 9, 2020by Rev. Adam Blons I woke up today and wasn’t sure what day of the week it was. Without my normal routines and rhythms one day seems just like the next.Wasn’t I just sitting here in my home office, looking at this screen and typing yesterday? And the day before? I am clinging…
Exploring Faith and Community • Macalester Plymouth United Church April 2, 2020 By Rev. Jeanyne Slettom “Candlepower” is a now-obsolete unit of measurement for luminous intensity. Last Sunday, when many of us lit candles during the online worship service, the term became a very present metaphor for measuring the luminous intensity of a worshipping community…