The Ready Writer

In light of the tragedy in Orlando a couple of weeks ago, I thought I would write a little something here to combat the hateful religious rhetoric that is all over the place lately. So I have been secular for most of my life.  My parents never raised me in a church, and other than going to the churches that my friends went to after a slumber party, I never really went, or had much interest in going.  I considered myself somewhere between spiritual and agnostic, and loved the history of the earth based religions (like Paganism) because they showed value of the Earth that we live on. I honestly can't say when I became a Jesus Follower (I have a little trouble calling myself a Christian because of the baggage and drama around it), it was probably around 5 or 6 years ago, and it wasn't until this last October that I wanted to start going to church. I'm going to say here that I don't think you need to go to church to be a good person of faith or a good person, it was j...

THE FIRST PORTION OF THIS POST IS FROM THE UCC SUNDAY BULLETIN PRINT OUT. THESE IDEAS ARE NOT MY OWN I JUST LIKE THEM AND I'M NOT MAKING MONEY ON THESE THINGS.  MY THOUGHTS WILL FOLLOW. "God is still speaking! God is a god of thunder and wind and rain. But we also know that God speaks in a still small voice whenever and wherever hearts are open and there is a cry for justice. That experience of a still speaking God, addressed by our denomination's identity materials, has given the United Church of Christ an unusual brand: the comma! Of course, that comes from the Gracie Allen quote, "Never place a period where God has placed a comma." The good news is we are not uni-punctuational. Just as Elijah experienced God in a new voice on that mountaintop, there is more than one punctuation mark that might express how we feel about this still speaking God. The question mark is always a faithful witness to every question we ask from the heart in our seeking and wonder...

So last Sunday, I finalized a decision I had been wanting to make for a little while now. I got baptized. My parents never baptized me as a child, and I am grateful for that because it allowed me to make that decision on my own.   For me, baptism wasn't and isn't about washing away the old me.  I liked the old me.  I was still a good person without faith, before faith, and after faith.  For me, baptism was the same as watering a flower.  Having the water flow down into the roots to feed it.  It was also a physical act that would prove my faith.  Before I got baptized, Pastor Christina asked me if I wanted to say a few words, and below is what I said in front of the congregation: "I like to think of people as gardeners.  Every time we accomplish something in life, we plant a seed, and our experiences, and the people around us help that little seed to grow.   For example, in 2013 I graduated from Southern Oregon Universit...