Years ago, I attended a retreat to prepare for an extended overseas mission trip. As we walked into the retreat center, we were greeted with a large, hand-written sign that read: “Change is our friend who brings us closer to Jesus.” The mission coordinator wisely knew that our venture would bring language differences, culture shock,…
What are you grieving amid COVID-19?
This is not how I imagined we would observe Easter. You either—I suspect. But in a recent conversation, a friend and I realized that this Easter was a lot like the first one—Jesus’ friends, holed up in a room for fear of death, grieving deep loss and not knowing the way ahead. I’ve been drawn…
Eucharistic Fasting: The Lord’s Supper in the Time of COVID-19
Because my wife is a Lutheran pastor, over the last two weeks I have seen many blog posts and Facebook discussions about what to do about communion now that churches can no longer gather physically. Should a pastor maybe say a Eucharistic prayer over the Internet, with all her flock watching from home and commune…