Author: katyandtheword

Pastor Katy has enjoyed ministry at New Covenant since 2010, where the church has solidified its community focus. She now works at Capital CFO plus as the Non Profit Director. All opinions expressed on this blog are her own and do not reflect those of Capital CFO plus. Prior to that she studied both Theology and Christian Formation at Princeton Theological Seminary. She also served as an Assistant Chaplain at Trenton Psychiatric Hospital and as the Christian Educational Coordinator at Bethany Presbyterian at Bloomfield, NJ. She is an writer and is published in Enfleshed, Sermonsuite, Presbyterian's today and Outlook. She writes prayers, liturgy, poems and public theology and is pursuing her doctorate in ministry in Creative Write and Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. She enjoys working within and connecting to the community, is known to laugh a lot during service, and tells as many stories as possible. Pastor Katy loves reading Science Fiction and Fantasy, theater, arts and crafts, music, playing with children and sunshine, and continues to try to be as (w)holistically Christian as possible. "Publisher after publisher turned down A Wrinkle in Time," L'Engle wrote, "because it deals overtly with the problem of evil, and it was too difficult for children, and was it a children's or an adult's book, anyhow?" The next year it won the prestigious John Newbery Medal. Tolkien states in the foreword to The Lord of the Rings that he disliked allegories and that the story was not one.[66] Instead he preferred what he termed "applicability", the freedom of the reader to interpret the work in the light of his or her own life and times.

“I believe that…

“I believe that the divisions between these aspects of Christ’s person and life are artificial. All three Christological aspects (incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection) are a part of the answer to human brokenness. As incarnate, Christ demonstrated that human bodies and experiences are not inimical to intimate relationship with God. As crucified, Christ showed that God understands and participates in human pain, suffering and even in mortality. As resurrected, Christ manifested God’s power over that pain, suffering and death. To share in the Lord’s Supper is to share with Christ Jesus in all these aspects of his person and life.” –Dr. Barb Hedges-Goettl PCUSA Pastor

Communion, the real deal

I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never be hungry; he who believes in me will never thirst” and “I am the vine, you are the branches. Cut off from me you can do nothing,” both of which emphasize the relationship between believers and Christ without specifically including Christ’s body.[1]

 

his body as a living sacrifice and his use of common things, including bread and wine, to bless and heal, reconcile, and bind people together, and also to exhibit “the grace, power, and presence of the Kingdom of God.”

 

My Favorite Pastors in TV & Film

I always thought that about shepherd, plus do you notice how often tv ministers are women (very rare). Love this list…didn’t include Father Ted though 😉

J. Barrett Lee's avatarHopping Hadrian's Wall

Too often, clergy in fictional media are portrayed as either demonic, judgmental hypocrites or sincere, mostly nice, but still basically useless.  Hardly ever are we played as real, full human beings in our own right, complete with hopes and flaws.  Here are a few that shatter such misconceptions:

Shepherd-Book-WP-firefly-3087444-1152-864Shepherd Book – Firefly, Serenity

Book: River, you don’t fix the Bible.
River: It’s broken. It doesn’t make sense.
Book: It’s not about making sense. It’s about believing in something, and letting that belief be real enough to change your life. It’s about faith. You don’t fix faith, River. It fixes you.

Dr. ChenFrank Lee Bukowski (a.k.a. Dr. Chen) – Eli Stone

Not technically a member of the clergy, but I included him anyway because Eli’s acupuncturist doubles as his spiritual advisor.

Eli Stone: But I don’t believe in God.
Dr. Frank Chen: Sure you do. You…

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Book Review: The Serpent’s Shadow by Mercedes Lackey

 

Synopsis: Half-Indian Maya Witherspoon has returned to England, but that’s not all, she has returned as a doctor, but that’s not all, she is also a strong magician.

Review: Very Strong Female Character–think Victorian Era Romance with a strong female. Also this is a very different look at Snow White! (However if you are in it for the fairy tale, that’s really a minor aspect). This is some of Mercedes Lackey’s best writing. There is a touch of mystery too (although it isn’t in any real sense a mystery). Also, a good struggle between her Eastern and Western heritage.

Strongly recommend!

Books you may also like: Patricia C. Wrede Mairelon the Magician (or the compilation which were released as A Matter of Magic or Magic and Malice). Snow White and Rose Red and The Enchanted Chocolate Pot (or Sorcery and Cecilia). Trying to think of other Victorian (non-steampunk, although those are great too) magic series….might add a comment about it later

And because every child is so, so amazing…..

jimpalmer1's avatarJim Palmer

manbaby

“Jesus said we must become like little children in order to experience the present reality of God’s kingdom. And yet, so little value and significance seems to be put on children. Western society and religion is sick with adultism. All our metaphors for God are couched in adultism. Some would feel it was even sacrilegious to represent or metaphorise God as a child or youth. That’s just how disconnected we have become from the truth and teachings of Jesus. Adults set the agenda for about everything in Western society, especially religion. Our adult society is are out of touch with the child, including, perhaps especially, the wounded child that is inside ourselves. Desire, passion, adventure, receptivity, creativity, openness, authenticity are but a few natural characteristics of children and youth that are invaluable for spiritual growth and transformation. Too often we think of children as a distraction or little creatures to…

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Ok, so here’s a breakdown of Easter’s History and the facts that Christianity used to be/should be/can be more inclusive…

Anne Thériault's avatarThe Belle Jar

If there is one thing that drives me absolutely bananas, it’s people spreading misinformation via social media under the guise of “educating”. I’ve seen this happen in several ways – through infographics that twist data in ways that support a conclusion that is ultimately false, or else through “meaningful” quotes falsely attributed to various celebrities, or by cobbling together a few actual facts with statements that are patently untrue to create something that seems plausible on the surface but is, in fact, full of crap.

Yesterday, the official Facebook page of (noted misogynistandeugenicsenthusiast) Richard Dawkins’ Foundation for Reason and Science shared the following image to their 637,000 fans:

Naturally, their fans lapped this shit up; after all, this is the kind of thing they absolutely live for. Religious people! Being hypocritical! And crazy! And wrong! The 2,000+ comments were chock-full of smug remarks…

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