liturgical year Archives - Page 3 of 5

Notes from the Lament Team

The mood is oddly chipper considering we are about to play for a funeral. This is what we do at our church: when someone dies, a call goes out to all our regular musicians to play at the funeral. We don’t have praise teams, but…

Debra RienstraFebruary 24, 2017

liturgical year spirituality

A Prayer for Christmas Eve

Come, Savior. Come amid the salt-crusted cars lined up at the light, amid the clamor and bustle of commerce, the grocery store cash drawer rings, the have-a-nice-days.

Debra RienstraDecember 24, 2016

liturgical year silly

Reformation Day at the Kids-These-Days Cafe

INT. KIDS THESE DAYS CAFÉ, HEAVEN – ETERNAL DAY Small clusters of saints in white robes, vaguely glowing, chatter convivially around heavy wood tables in a cozy bistro. The bright robes contrast with the dark wood paneling, rough ceiling timbers, and flagstone floors. Though everyone…

Debra RienstraOctober 28, 2016

liturgical year memoir spirituality

A Lenten Update

Dear Jesus, Just thought I’d send a quick note and let you know how things are going this Lent. Actually, not so good tbh. I don’t know. I just wasn’t feeling it this year, you know? I didn’t give up chocolate or carbs or anything.…

Debra RienstraMarch 18, 2016

liturgical year spirituality

No Words Fall

It must begin with Zechariah’s silence. Nothing against poor old Zechariah. Who can blame him for asking a decent question? The text tells us that both he and Elizabeth were upright and blameless before the Lord. So even if Gabriel comes off as a little…

Debra RienstraDecember 11, 2015

liturgical year spirituality

Saturday of the Harrowed Hearts

Holy Week demands that we dwell in-between. We have been trying since Palm Sunday to place ourselves in the familiar stories of this week, imagining ourselves with Jesus at the supper or in the garden or at the foot of the cross, setting aside our…

Debra RienstraApril 3, 2015

liturgical year Pious Petunia

Pious Petunia Strolls Gracefully Down the Via Dolorosa

It’s time once again to consult with our guest columnist Pious Petunia, seeking her wisdom to console and guide us through the rough spots on the journey from Ash Wednesday penitence to Easter rejoicing. Dear Miss Petunia: I usually give up sweets for Lent, and…

Debra RienstraMarch 20, 2015

liturgical year spirituality

I’m Done with Broken

During Lent, I expect to hear about sin and suffering, but I’m starting to get tired of the word “broken.” Also “brokenness,” “broken world,” “broken people,” and “messy, broken world/people.” Overused words descend into cliché, and I think we might be approaching that territory here.…

Debra RienstraMarch 6, 2015

liturgical year spirituality theology

Communio Sanctorum

When I was a child, my family usually attended church on New Year’s Eve, and during the service the pastor or an elder would read the “necrology”—the list of those from the congregation who had died in the last year. It was a way of…

Debra RienstraNovember 1, 2014

liturgical year spirituality

Look for the Helpers

Joseph of Arimathea appears in all four gospels, but I am particularly drawn to the account in John, which includes some details beyond what the synoptics provide. Here Joseph is accompanied in his ministrations by Nicodemus—that other recorded member of the Secret Disciple Club. Nicodemus…

Debra RienstraApril 19, 2014

liturgical year

Notes from the Lament Team

A Prayer for Christmas Eve

Reformation Day at the Kids-These-Days Cafe

A Lenten Update

No Words Fall

Saturday of the Harrowed Hearts

Pious Petunia Strolls Gracefully Down the Via Dolorosa

I’m Done with Broken

Communio Sanctorum

Look for the Helpers

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