Last night, my 7 year old son and I had a “sleepover” at our church – we were staying as overnight hosts for the homeless guests that were sleeping at our church as part of Families Moving Forward. (We do this because there is something very special about being able to run around the church… Read More
As many know, I have been doing a chaplain residency this year on my road to ordination. One of my areas of responsibility in the hospital is the Birth Center, which everyone thinks will be fun, until they realize ‘no one calls the chaplain when labor goes well.’ Much of my job has been holding the… Read More
“Throughout all of these messages is woven this key ideal: that we are to give our first fruits to God – to live with loyalty and faithfulness.” Read More
Audio of a sermon preached for North Presbyterian Church, North St. Paul, MN. March 7, 2013. Listen to the sermon here: SPRING FORWARD
“I wonder if you can imagine for a minute: what is the connection between overripe bananas, tangled cords, and an overbearing heavy load? What do these three things have in common?” Read More
“It is hard to stay in tension – even good tension. But it may just be that the interplay between faith and works, grace and law, covenant and gospel is what keeps our faith active.” Read More
If you have ever wondered why the United Church of Christ participates in the Communion practice of an “Open Table”…here is my personal reflection of what the Open Table means, that might help to explain why. You are invited into a mystery that none of us fully understand.
For Alice. 12.15.15 You don’t expect laughter On a Tuesday night at 11:00 pm To be coming from the hospital chapel. You don’t expect smiles To spread across tear-stained cheeks As a mother clings to her husband’s waist And speaks of the kind of love That only grows in darkness. You don’t expect the warmth… Read More
Tell me, Butterfly, what’s it like? Read More
“If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to one another.”
– Mother Theresa Read More
“How do you feel when I say:
– a wolf in sheep’s clothing?
– the black sheep of the family?
– Mary had a little lamb?
– a lamb to the slaughter?
Each of these images bringes about a slightly different emotion. That is why metaphors are tricky; they are colored by the perceptions (and misperceptions) that we bring to them.” Read More
“There are several hints in the Gospels that evil spirits represent unmet needs. The spirits inhabit the inner empty shell caused by feelings of inferiority, unworthiness, disempowerment, torture, pain, and alienation. There is nothing in the Gospel narratives to suggest that these evil forces are the result of wrong, immoral behavior; their power is garnered… Read More
What is My Plan? At the turn of the millennium, January 2000, a friend posted this question to the online community: citing that W.E.B. Dubois identified race as the defining problem of the twentieth century, my friend asked “What is your plan to counter this problem for the next millennium?” In response to this question,… Read More
(The following words were written for United Theological Seminary’s 2014 Blue Christmas service, and follow the traditional Blue Christmas candle-lighting moments of pain, fear, struggle, and grief.) PAIN Mary: They say that women forget the pain of childbirth, but I don’t believe it’s true. I will neverforget the pain. I labored for hours on the… Read More
OR, The Litany for Women Who Have No Choice. The following can be used as a litany or a multi-voice sermon. It was originally written for a prayer service focused on advocating for women’s health rights for the United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities VOICE 4: Blessed are you who are poor, for yours… Read More
Cathy Mia Kolwey