Tag Archives: Courage

What Love Means

Posted on February 14, 2021 by Rev. Gretchen Haley

Part 1: Tough Love When I was an intern in the women’s prison – women would come to talk with me, as their chaplain, and they’d tell me that they knew, Jesus was the solution to their problems. When they’d say … Continue reading →

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Back to Life – Easter 2020

Posted on April 12, 2020 by Rev. Gretchen Haley

Text: Mary Oliver’s Messenger  Mark’s Gospel Chapter 16  Homily  Last night as I kissed my daughter’s forehead, she felt hot.  In normal times I’d just think: “Teenager. Day in the sun, no big deal.” But this is not a normal time.  So … Continue reading →

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Tomorrow Land

Posted on January 6, 2020 by Rev. Gretchen Haley

Reading: The House Called Tomorrow by Alberto Rios  Just over three years ago, we convened an impromptu evening service – the night after the national election.    People poured in to social hall for the potluck meal we invited before the … Continue reading →

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all we can do

Posted on May 23, 2019 by Rev. Gretchen Haley

All you can do is walk into Jerusalem, with the Hosannas ringing in your ears, and the palms coming at you in every direction, when you’re already remembering the bitter of what comes next even then, all you have is … Continue reading →

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(Don’t) Be Afraid – Christmas Eve Homily 2018

Posted on December 25, 2018 by Rev. Gretchen Haley

We live in times where fear is a regular part of life.  People often feel afraid  – sometimes very afraid. For themselves, for their future – for their children, for our earth, and for our world.   It’s why I’ve been … Continue reading →

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Hope that Breathes

Posted on December 3, 2018 by Rev. Gretchen Haley

Reading from Vaclav Havel  Hope is a state of mind, not of the world. Either we have hope or we don’t.  It is not essentially dependent on some particular observation of the world or estimate of the situation. Hope is not prognostication. It is an … Continue reading →

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The Plunge

Posted on September 10, 2018 by Rev. Gretchen Haley

When I was a kid, some of my friends had a cabin on a lake, where just off to the side there was a place you could go, and jump off the ledge into the water below.  I’d watched my friends … Continue reading →

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TMI

Posted on April 16, 2018 by Rev. Gretchen Haley

There was a period of time, when my kids were young, when a good number of people I’ve never met knew more about my kids than many of my close friends. These people knew a little about me, too, that … Continue reading →

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The Next Right Thing

Posted on August 28, 2017 by Rev. Gretchen Haley

Reading – from Glennon Doyle – “A list of 5 things I know”  1. What you don’t know, you’re not supposed to know yet. 2. More will be revealed. 3. Crisis means to sift. Let it all fall away and you’ll … Continue reading →

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The Courage of Faith, and Doubt

Posted on March 1, 2017 by Rev. Gretchen Haley

Reading – from “Faith and Doubt” in Paul Tillich’s Dynamics of Faith An act of faith is an act of a finite being who is grasped by and turned to the infinite. It is a finite act with all the … Continue reading →

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