As we wind down Season two of three minute ministry mentor, a little Advent and Christmas reflection seems in order. Next Monday we will look back over 2020, so this week I’ll keep it brief and offer some reflections about…
Read MoreAdvent Guest Post | Deep Magic, Not Cheap Tricks
This third week of Advent we are happy to welcome a guest post about the deep magic of Advent by Rev. Mary Elizabeth Hill Hanchey. This Advent we partnered with Mary Elizabeth and her friend and collaborator Carlye Daugird to…
Read More3MMM | Episode 91: From Allies to Co-Conspirators
On Friday, we shared a “Love Letter to the Black Church” from Rev. Alisha Smith Haddock. This week we have another love letter. This one is addressed to white Christians and churches from Rev. Dr. Judy Cummings. We have been…
Read MorePastoral Imagination | Book Cover Reveal
We are excited to share the cover of Eileen Campbell-Reed’s next book: Pastoral Imagination: Bringing the Practice of Ministry to Life (Fortress, 2021). Additionally, we are delighted to say the book is introduced in a foreword by Christian Scharen. And…
Read More3MMM | Trauma Informed Leadership
What is trauma informed leadership? Why does it matter? If you are engaging in the practice of ministry, I hope you will read on. This fall I am teaching a course in “Trauma Informed Pastoral and Spiritual Care” for Union…
Read MoreLeading in Times of Crisis
This is very likely to be a stressful week. Stakes are high. People are divided. The world’s eyes are watching the U.S. elections culminating on Tuesday. Pastors, activists, priests, and chaplains are no exception. You must do what you must…
Read More3MMM | Clergy Appreciation Week
This week we are focussing on clergy appreciation! This year has challenged us all. And this seems like a good time to pause and be grateful for our clergy leaders. We are going to spend the week in gratitude for…
Read MoreGuest Blog: Mary Elizabeth Hanchey
This week we are delighted to welcome a guest blog about preparing for Advent from Rev. Mary Elizabeth Hill Hanchey. She and her friend and collaborator Carlye Daugird have composed and curated a set of Advent resources to carry us…
Read MoreFive Ways to Honor Indigenous Peoples’ Day
Have you been to a meeting or worship service lately where someone begins with a Land Acknowledgement? To say with honor and respect and lament the names of the Indigenous Peoples who first inhabited a place is a good start.…
Read More3MMM | Episode 86: Where God is Present
Where is God present? This is a question that circles through my fourth and final conversation segment with Dr. Pete Ward who teaches in the Department of Theology and Religion at Durham University, UK. Over the last few weeks we…
Read More3MMM | Episode 82: Ethical Wills
Chaplaincy Jennifer Hundley Batts Thomas sat down with me in the late spring to talk about ethical wills. She helped me to share with my students in the Death, Dying, and Bereavement course at Union Theological Seminary about the significance…
Read MoreGuest Post | How to Survive a Tornado by Pastor Lisa Hammonds | Part I
Editors Note: Rev. Lisa Hammonds is pastor of St. John AME Church in North Nashville. We asked her to share her story of pastoring her congregation through the March 3 Nashville Tornados. If you would like to support the church…
Read More3MMM | Episode 78: Grief Rituals
LOn Sunday afternoon I hosted a conversation on Zoom with friends from my childhood church. Together we were remembering one of our friends, a fellow youth group member, who died earlier this summer. It was good to be with each…
Read More3MMM | Episode 76: Communal Healing & Care
This week we continue our conversation with Dr. Stephanie Crumpton about caring for girls and women who have experienced violence. Earlier we talked about the complexity and intentionality of care, particularly for Black women and girls. Our focus today is…
Read MoreThe World Is on Fire | Independence Day?
Counting the Costs of “Independence Day” If one of you wanted to build a tower, wouldn’t you first sit down and calculate the cost, to determine whether you have enough money to complete it? (Luke 14:26, CEB) If we want…
Read More3MMM | Episode 73: What are you here to do?
Sometimes the word of the Lord comes. It might be while you’re doing the dishes. It happened that way for Dr. Stephanie Crumpton. It was her first semester teaching at Lancaster Theological Seminary. It was 2014. Her new students were…
Read MoreHow To Survive Your Internship in a Pandemic by Kim McKay Allen
Please enjoy this post by my friend, recent graduate of Central Seminary, and chaplain, Kim McKay Allen. In today’s blog she tells us how she survived the onset of the global pandemic this spring while completing her internship and seminary…
Read MoreThe World is on Fire | Cultivating Empathy
For men of color, White women, and White men to stand in solidarity with women of color (and for us to stand in solidarity with one another) requires them to adopt an ethic of caring, a position of receptivity, trust,…
Read MoreShifting from Victim to Witness: Doing Our Internal Work
How do we shift the balance of our internal narratives, so that we become witnesses rather than victims of our fear, grief, pain, and trauma? Recently our host, Eileen Campbell-Reed led a webinar for the Wayne Oates Institute: “Working with People in…
Read MoreThe World is on Fire | How will we respond to the movement for Black lives?
The world is on fire. How are we going to respond? In the past week, my attention and all my news and social feeds were riveted to the protests in more than 140 cities in the US and globally, over…
Read MorePodcasts and Practices: Guest Post by Erin Robinson Hall
You’re listening to podcasts while your feet hit pavement. Or while you hold the steering wheel. You’re listening at your laptop while your fingers carry out tedious parts of your work day. Or while you chop vegetables on the kitchen…
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