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http://bible.oremus.org/?passage=Matthew+3:1-12&vnum=yes&version=nrsv

Ps. 2:7-8

⁷I will tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to me, “You are my son; today I have begotten you.

⁸Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.”

Brownson says that Baptism is not Salvation, but the promise of salvation. It is the faith in that promise, it is the acknowledgment that our God is a Promisekeeping God

Baptism particularizes the promise that God makes to the world.

Why?

God promises to love the world, to take care of it, to save it.  Baptism, adopts us into that promise, particularizing it into us…embracing us into the reality of Jesus Christ, making us part of it all…We are all children of God in general, baptism, makes us each children of God as individuals; Matt 28:19-20 baptize them in the name of the…

You may have noticed the RevGalBlogPal icon on the right side of my blog. I’m proud to be one of the many female clergy who blog and who are connected to each other through the Rev Gals. I have met some of these women IRL (or in the real world) and many more I only know through our online interaction.

Many of “my” good ideas were generously shared in stories they told and in suggestions they have offered to me. I’m a better minister and a healthier person because of their collaboration, their prayers, and their friendship.

RevGals on 2015 Big Event (a Continuing Education Cruise)

And now we have a book!

I’m very excited to have written one of the chapters in this book. My chapter is called “The Body of Christ Shimmies” and talks about what I learned about Jesus (and myself) in my belly dancing classes. I…

My middle child Westley has a severe delay in speech and probably has some other diagnoses as well.

However, he loves! loves! loves! Nonverbal characters.

Favorites include

Nutcracker ballet: yes he will sit through the entire 2hr dance show

Pingu: babbling Claymation characters who (in the tradition of them being claymation) don’t talk

Knuffle Bunny: “Not so long ago before she could speak words…” Picture book about the difficulties of not having words yet……” This is totally a speech book

Curious George: Where the Show especially is the world as interpreted by a nonverbal, babbling, monkey

Elsa: who doesn’t get to talk to anyone and has to work out thing through her powers

Blues Clues: Puppy Dog must leave clues to get message across

Our Current Favorite: It has dogs AND monsters that don’t speak normally (usually) and its all about figuring out why. Plus its SPOOKY!…

Today is Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week for those of us in the (non-Orthodox) Christian world. Today we remember Jesus’ pageantry as he rode into Jerusalem, and from here we re-tell the stories of a last meal and new commandment, betrayal, denial, and commitment, as we journey to the cross, the tomb, and Easter. It is a holy week indeed.

It is also a generally extremely busy and often stressful week for pastors, perhaps more than any other in the liturgical year. However, people often overlook this, which just adds to the stress. (My theory is that unlike Advent/Christmas, the wider society is not aware of or involved in preparing for Easter other than getting baskets ready and hiding eggs, so people simply forget–even those that go to church!).

So, as we head into Holy Week 2015, here are five suggestions for ways to care for the pastors…