I’ve seen them referred to as “the poinsettia and lily crowd,” those who show up to church for Christmas and Easter. It’s crass, an insider’s jab at the allegedly less committed and less concerned. But really, if you’re going to show up to church on any two days of the year, those are pretty good ones. While faith and understanding …
Palm Sunday (Program)
Palm Sunday was a little different, so there is no sermon or conversation notes. However, I did want to share the program and one of the songs we did. Program The song was originally written by Florence Reese during the labor riots of the 1930s. Ani DiFranco recently updated it. We took her inspiration for the music and tweaked her …
Palm Sunday at CitC
If you’re looking for a preview of church tomorrow, Matthew Skinner has an excellent article on Mark’s take on the Passion. (Thanks, Jaime!) We’ll be interweaving samplings of this text with music and liturgy. It will be participatory! We’re also working up our own version of Ani DiFranco’s version of a protest song from the 1930s labor battles. Which side …
Palm Sunday: Triumph and Loss
Throughout Lent, we have traveled with 4th century mystic Evagrius Ponticus, interrogating demons to prepare for an encounter with God in death and new life. This season culminates in Holy Week, the annual remembrance of Jesus’ passion and death. It begins on a bittersweet, perhaps ironic note in Palm Sunday. Jesus has traveled to Jerusalem, which is presumably the site …
The Demons’ Power: Fear (Program and Sermon)
Program Opening Comments Avoiding work is an art form. When I delivered pizza and things were slow, I might take the long way back to the store. When I worked in a warehouse, I was taught to “ghost,” which means to carry a clipboard and a pen and look purposeful. But I really honed my craft in the business world …
The Demons’ Power: Fear
This is our final stop on our journey with 4th century mystic Evagrius Ponticus. On our travels, we have encountered Evagrius’ bestiary of demons – demons of desire: gluttony, lust, and avarice; demons of resistance: sadness, anger, and acedia; and demons of reason: vainglory and vanity. We also added shame to Evagrius’ list. I hope that this helped name the …
Demons of Reason (Sermon and Program)
Some have requested that I make the opening and closing comments to our conversations available as well as our programs. Bear in mind that the conversation is a conversation, so the middle part is just questions that may or may not have been asked on Sunday. I hope they are questions readers will find fruitful to consider. Program Opening Comments …
Demons of Reason: Pride and Shame
This week we continue our pilgrimage home to the self and to God through the eyes of 4th century mystic Evagrius Ponticus. The past two weeks, we have discussed demons that attack through the body and the passions. Now we arrive at the reasonable demons: vainglory and vanity, later known together as pride. I say reasonable demons because, according to …
CitC folk out and about
Always nice to see our people pursuing their passions and working for a better world. Jann Aldredge-Clanton was awarded an honorable mention in a hymn writing contest with the Alliance of Baptists, the organization to which our church belongs. The hymns were written to celebrate 25 years of ministry and mission by the Alliance and were intended to give voice …
Demons of Resistance (Sermon and Program)
Some have requested that I make the opening and closing comments to our conversations available as well as our programs. Bear in mind that the conversation is a conversation, so the middle part is just questions that may or may not have been asked on Sunday. I hope they are questions readers will find fruitful to consider. Program Opening Comments …