Evangelical United Church of Christ

Last weekend Glenn Beck stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and addressed the nation, this weekend local parish pastors are struggling to make sense of what was and wasn’t said in communities of faith that alternately adore and abhor the movement that Beck represents. After finally watching the video last evening, I admit to [...] 0

Somewhere between Fox News and the Huffington Post, I am sure there are neutral and informative sources for relevant news. My inbox each day boasts both the CNN dailies and those of the New York Times, both attempting a neutral ground. But in truth, I shy away even from these as the headlines [...] 0

As we begin the journey to take my eldest to begin her college career, I am struck by the simultaneous uproar about public education in our hometown of St. Louis. My daughter is a recent graduate of a St. Louis county high school, my son now a junior at the same school. [...] 0

The face of America is changing. Although the wave was set in motion years ago, the magnitude of the eventual wave was unknown, the effect for today’s American culture unseen. Tragically, we are ill prepared to ride the wave and in our flailing we will most certainly drown. On Sunday, a friend told me [...] 0

It’s Thursday night and I have one last thing to do before crashing, ponder. Tomorrow morning is our last day of Peace Trail and our weekly newsletter will be sent out before I have another chance at the keyboard. So, it’s now or never. One would think that an article about the week would [...] 0

Polygamists are claiming victory even as they are publicly disavowing the practice this week. Warren Jeff’s highly publicized conviction in Utah was overturned by the state Supreme Court based upon the trial judge’s faulty instructions to the jury. Perhaps this is as good a time as any to point out that I don’t [...] 0

When the ACLU lent it support to Constance, it became immediately clear that though she and her date might not ever attend the prom, her voice would be heard. When a settlement was reached this week, Constance received a small stipend ($35,000) but huge affirmation of her right to be who she is, to [...] 0

As a pastor living and serving in the 3rd Congressional District, I’m calling a foul. Admittedly I was offended by Ed Martin’s charge this week that a government with the policies supported by Obama and Carnahan threaten his (and by implication my) eternal salvation. His statement (Gina Louden Show, July 13, 2010) is a bold [...] 0

My 16 year old niece has been travelling in Europe with a music group and by all accounts having a fabulous time. Recently she posted a lament on her facebook page: “There’s only about one week left why must this come to an end?” Simultaneously her mother (not in Europe) posts: [...] 0

Years ago when adulthood was a new experience, a friend was cooking dinner for her new boyfriend and I. As she was in the midst of the meal prep, she realized that she had forgotten to pick up mushrooms and her beau gallantly headed off to the nearest store and returned with the missing [...] 0

The power of suggestion is fierce and the suggestion is writer’s block. Honestly, as a pastor-mom, the possibilities for pondering seem endless so it is rarely a matter of finding a topic but more often a struggle between choices of worthy topics. But a lively conversation about writers block earlier in the week [...] 0

Charged political times yield interesting bumper stickers, and we have been living in stormy waters. Perhaps the most audacious stickers are those that match faith with politics. Almost always these stickers inflame passions in one extreme or another. A friend emailed today when a co-worker arrived in a car decked out with “Christian [...] 0

By the time you are reading this, an estimated 40 million gallons of crude oil have poured into the Gulf of Mexico. [PBS counter] This is quadruple the total spill of the Exxon Valdez. This is an amount that is beyond our human imagining. And it isn’t done flowing. The bane and blessing [...] 0

Ted Hattori died this week. If you ever had the chance to know Ted, you know this has been a very sad week in our church office. For those who did not have the honor, I share this week’s ponderings. Ted was charming, the kind of charming that only comes when people are extra [...] 0

Ted Hattori died this week. If you ever had the chance to know Ted, you know this has been a very sad week in our church office. For those who did not have the honor, I share this week’s ponderings. Ted was charming, the kind of charming that only comes when people are extra [...] 0

Only at the Other Evangelical would we watch the stock market tank and immediately announce the beginning of a Capital Campaign. After all, we are the church that ignored conventional wisdom and declared ourselves to be the first Open and Affirming UCC church in suburban St. Louis (2001). We had likewise been early [...] 0

The voices to whom we must listen as we attend immigration reform in America are the voices of those most at risk. 0

Recently I told a friend that I am trying to sit in the middle of the boat. This is a phrase that I often hear and have begun to repeat, but as I sit in the quiet early morning I am struck by the power of the image. My canoeing days were as [...] 0