Diane Roth
On putting your hand to the plow and not looking back
After church on Sunday, I got ready to go on vacation. But first, I wanted to visit a parish member who is in the hospital.
...For the fun of it
Last Tuesday night, I held the second of a short series of Lectio Divina meetings at church. I pulled the chairs into a circle, put the small candle out and prepared for whoever might show up.
...Faith formation
Not long ago I went to visit a woman who had just entered hospice care. I've known her family for several years. I used to visit her with her husband and give them communion pretty regularly.
...Sanctuary
Sometimes, especially lately, someone will come up to me and sort of whisper to me, "You know, I'm not that liberal, but I really do think we need to do something about gun violence in this country...
Not exactly an Easter sermon
We pull out all the stops on Easter. So do you, I'll bet. We have the flowers, and the music, and the crowds....
My Lenten fast from chanting
So the senior pastor and I decided not to chant the communion liturgy this year during Lent, thinking it would be simple and a bit austere—and that, like "Alleluia," we might miss it and long for i...
Don't give up. Give up.
Yesterday was Ash Wednesday. We had bookend services, one at 8:00 a.m. in the chapel, the other at 7:00 p.m....
People are needy. People are gifted.
One of the hazards of visiting people in the hospital, in nursing homes, and while they are grieving is coming to regard people as the sum total of their needs and deficiencies.
...What makes it worthwhile
Recently I went home early, coming down with a cold, feeling low, sore throat, all those things....
Visiting my dad
I got a call recently to visit someone in the hospital. I didn't know her well, but I recognized her name, and when I got to the hospital, I remembered her husband....
Lord, have mercy
The summer has brought some changes, big and small, to the congregation where I am a pastor. Of course, the big one is a new senior pastor....
Anonymous
I've been reading the New Testament all this summer, reading a few chapters a day and writing about them....
I've been told that I'm good at pastoral care
I have mixed feelings about that.
I don't know why, really, especially after something I heard last month. At the Stewardship Conference I attended, one of the speakers actually admonished us, "If you don't like pastoral care, you should find another line of work."
Well, I do like pastoral care.
"Shall we have a prayer?"
It was a hard time. I was not sure of a direction, and felt like my movement was blocked at every turn. I felt like I had made many mistakes, and was not sure yet if they were fatal mistakes....
Storms, death and other things I can't control
Sunday night we heard there might be storms heading our way, so we decided to stay in South Dakota for an extra night and head out Monday morning instead....
Blaspheming the Holy Spirit
It's the "unforgivable" part that gets me. How can there be an unforgivable sin?
What is a congregation for?
On Saturday, a young man from my congregation died, after a long battle with cancer. Well, I say he was a young man, but he was my age. Yes, he was young.
...Nothing in my hands I bring
I went to the hospital the other day. For some reason, I like to have a prayer book with me when I go to the hospital, even though I rarely use it. It's not that I don't pray; I always pray....
Being a pastor to a pastor
I used to love to watch him and his wife, sitting in the front row at church every Sunday. He always took copious notes during the sermon....