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  • Mass: A Conversation ✓
    The parishioner just couldn’t accept the word “mass.” In a long, terse letter to the rector, he decried the use of the term Mass. It’s a worship service, he said. We’re not Roman Catholic. We shouldn’t be using their terminology. "S…
  • Discernment During Institutional Depression
    Is anyone else concerned about our church’s impassioned embrace of depression as we look toward General Convention and a challenging future? The Episcopal blogosphere is full of articles underscoring our grim institutional trajectory. A couple of…
  • Forty.
    I’m not gonna lie. The idea of turning 40 sucked. I spent some time moping last week. It didn’t help that my kids started teasing, calling me oldy-moldy or old-and-crusty. Then a co-worker prefaced a question to me with “O, ancient one.…
  • Same Story, New Techniques
    For a decade, I’ve been telling readers of our diocesan newspaper about summer camp. It’s an amazing, life-changing experience for most kids, but I couldn’t bring myself to use those same words for the tenth time to promote camp. I susp…
  • Wanted: Fundraiser Makeover
    Today, I’m attending my first “Card Party” at my new congregation. I know I’ll have a great time kibitzing with women of all ages, visiting over the specialty sandwiches, and bidding with abandon on baskets of goodies. I like this kin…
  • Cha Cha Slide
    It’s time to add the slide to our pew-aerobics repertoire. We all know the rule of real estate: location, location, location. Of course, this is true in the pew as well. Prime spots tend to be about a halfway back, close enough to be …
  • Stuck in a Rut?
    Ever wonder why we can’t get out of this rut? Maybe it’s a question you’ve asked as you went to the same job, in the same place, after leaving the same house and the same family so often it feels like life has no more zest. Why do I feel …
  • The Other 1 Percent
    I dreaded the meeting. Negative, sometimes brutal messages on listservs, blogs, and other forums had drained my energy, twisting and dampening my anticipation of connecting with colleagues. If it ends up being three days of more of the …
  • Wake-up Call
  • Editor's Letter: March 2012
    Greetings. Much has been written about the overall decline in mainline denominations. Tom Ehrich and others are calling for a ‘new way of doing business‘ – and throughout our church, congregational leaders struggle with the reality of d…
  • Why stay the same?
    Nota - Este artículo esta disponible en español aquí. Like many congregations, the Episcopal Church Foundation is currently in the midst of many changes. My friend and colleague Anne Ditzler is heading for greener pastures after 14 years of bei…
  • Charting change: what's missing?
    I’ve been cleaning out my office. While sorting and dumping most papers into the recycling bin, a few gems surfaced. One is a simple chart called Managing Complex Change. 
  • What's the appropriate pace of change?
    As congregational leaders, you are undoubtedly aware of the need for significant changes in your church. After all, rising to the occasion, making critical decisions, and implementing positive changes in the face of challenge is what leadership is al…
  • Gathering Around Ministry, Not Minister
    Over the past several years, the Episcopal Church Foundation (ECF) has been advocating for a new type of local congregation - one that serves as a transformational faith community. Its primary purpose is to inspire and empower members to become act…
  • Ashes -- and a message in a bottle
    I like shiny and new. I’m not typically first on the bandwagon of the latest trend, but I normally get in line for ride two or three. This is especially true with communication, and I’ve spent many keystrokes for ECF Vital Practices and o…
  • I didn't sign up for this.
    Over the past ten years of working on various committees and church groups, there have been a few critical moments when I've found myself thinking “I didn’t sign up for this.” Please note: I’m not proud of this fact. For me, this is a boiling…
  • Un-masking Mardi Gras
    The festivities were well underway by the time we arrived. Sequined dresses and glittered faces greeted us at the door. The normally more staid atmosphere of a diocesan convention was replaced with the upbeat celebration of Mardi Gras, comple…
  • Leaving
    This morning I received the letter from my Rector saying he was leaving our parish in New York City and going to a congregation in Vermont. We knew it was coming…he’d always said he’d serve at St. Mary’s for about 10 years. At last year’s…
  • Cupid-ity or Stupidity?
    Be mine. I thought this was simply a sweet if trite sentiment on a candy conversation heart. But an astute wordsmith preacher taught on Valentine's Day that this phrase takes on a dark twist in the word “cupidity.” Instead of an ar…
  • Accountability in Community.
    A month into our move the shininess has worn off, and we’re beginning to call this home – and the other place, “where we used to live.” Now comes the hard part of making friends and building community. Last week our church held …
  • Post Christendom to Missional Church
    Tom Ehrich and Frank Logue are right. Christendom* ended in the early 1960s (in the USA). My trip to Iceland helped me to see this more clearly. An island, not quite midway between Northern Europe and North America and settled in the 9th centur…
  • Changing the Scorecard
    Does your congregation’s parochial report represent what is really happening in your parish? How might you change your ‘scorecard’ to represent the many ways your congregation is serving God’s mission? These questions were raised at the…
  • A Leopard and its Spots
    “This is no place for children.” The usher clucked, then shook his head and muttered a few other dismissals. Heat rose from the pit of my stomach, filled my chest and sucked out the joy. I held to the hand of our 2-year-old daughter…
  • What We Leave Behind
    I pull out my diocesan credit card and survey the moving boxes. As I slide the card to the salesman, I'm distracted, calculating how many boxes I might need for my office. The salesman looks closely at the card. You have the same name as Bish…
  • What is ABCD?
    After reading the book, Community—The Structure of Belonging by Peter Block, I’ve been consumed with learning more about ways to live in and build better community (for myself and others). Shortly after having been transformed by the words I re…
  • What's Your Dirt Pile?
    Like most kids, my son’s best friend has carefully crafted his Christmas list for Santa. A few Wii games made the cut, along with some Star Wars paraphernalia and Beyblades (don’t ask me – it’s some funky disc game that’s the current rage…
  • B-4: Traditions of Thanksgiving
    After the turkey tryptophan has wound its way through our system and we’re bright-eyed again, my mom re-sets the table. We’re not allowed into the kitchen while she works, so we wait. When she finally calls us in, the table has been trans…
  • Here, Hear the Children
    The call came a few hours after the parish meeting. A young dad, he wanted his priest to know about a situation, in case it escalated. The diocesan transitions officer was meeting with the people of the parish to talk about next steps since t…
  • Refrigerator Score
    Growing up in a competitive, game-playing family, if I was thoroughly thumped during a card game, then the score promptly went up on the refrigerator. The good-natured taunts of “refrigerator score” would begin about midway through a game…
  • Damon and Clint: Asset Based Community Development
    Real change can happen when we make the shift from meeting needs to recognizing and accepting gifts. I’d like to share a story I heard last week during a workshop on Asset Based Community Development at the Everyone, Everywhere conference … …
  • Change
    Every organization needs a shake-up.  Not all the time, of course. After all, constancy is valuable, as long as it’s not prized above all else. But organizations, like churches, diocesan offices, denominational centers and General Conventions…
  • Charting a New Path
    The economic news in Dayton, Ohio, isn’t good. Long a manufacturing hub, the city has acutely felt the national financial woes. One in 10 workers are unemployed, and job loss is among the highest in the state. But leave it to the Epis…
  • The Baptist Bus Driver
    Herb beckoned for my husband to come to the bus door. My daughter found this book for me, Herb said. It is really amazing. I’m learning all kinds of new things. Have you ever seen a book like this? The words “Holy Scripture”…
  • Dreaming, Google, and the Church
    What’s your dream? I spent the past 2 ½ days dreaming with the board of Forward Movement, an organization dedicated to reinvigorating the church. We did board things like approve the financial report and talk about policies, but we also sp…
  • Roscoe and the Widow's Mite
    Roscoe opens his hand to reveal the pair of earrings. The tarnished hoops look small in his calloused hands. I found these in one of the trash bags I was sorting through, he tells me. I cleaned ‘em up real good for you. I take t…
  • A New Normal 2: Communion
    For me, church was always done a certain way: Until I began going to a new church. For the first 40+ years of my life, taking communion meant walking to the front of the church – when prompted by the usher – and kneeling at the altar rail. …
  • Old Dogs, New Tricks
    I love how God flips our expectations upside down. Sixty years separate the two couples. The first couple is in their 90s, the husband dapper in a tie and white slacks, whose likeness to Bob Barker always requires a double take. He steadies h…
  • A New Normal
    I was ready to boycott ABC. The news struck me hard. The network was cancelling All My Children. How could they? What did they mean that ratings were down? What about all the people who recorded the show, or watched it on SoapNet or the Int…
  • Thanks, Netflix: A Lesson in Communication and Change
    We should send a thank you letter to Netflix.  After all, the company is providing a great example of what happens when there’s no communication plan. To catch you up: Basically Netflix, a mail-order DVD rental company, made huge change…
  • The Messy Middle
    Four months. It seems to be the right interval. Is there anything biblical about this number? Nope. Anything magical or theoretical? No. Arrived at by trial and error, it’s just the timeframe that emerged for planning my life these days. I can ha…
  • Spiritual but not Religious?
    You bore me. That’s the conclusion of a UCC pastor in her superb, pointed commentary. I’m not normally a Facebook re-poster, but her blog was so compelling that I thought it was worth sharing. Who knew that it would ignite? Fr…
  • A Stewardship Miracle
    It’s not loaves and fishes. But considering that some Episcopalians regard coffee hour as the eighth sacrament, this is close. An entrepreneur, Jonathan Stark wasn’t planning an experiment about the kindness of strangers. He was exploring…
  • Waxing nostalgic: Back to school
    Bring on the routine.  In 12 days, the kids begin school for the fall, and our family settles into a regular schedule. Homework, dinner, a little TV. Piano practice, art lessons and for the first time, maybe karate. I say maybe, because t…
  • Finding Mr./Mrs. (the Rev.) Right
    Discernment is like dating.  Those early butterflies. Conversation that burrows a little deeper with each chat, by turns both exuberant and awkward. The not knowing how much to reveal: I like you. I want to serve here. I want to move forward to…
  • Shooting Stars
    Every diocesan office, every church staff has some superstars. They are creative thinkers – and doers – with boundless optimism and energy. Their job is a ministry, a calling, and they pour both their ability and heart into the work. And it…
  • Change
    The only constant in life - and in our surveys, apparently - is change. When we survey ECF Vital Practices readers about the topic they’ve needed the most help or guidance in during the past six months, “change” is regularly near the top of …
  • To Print or Not to Print
    To print or not to print.  That is the question facing many dioceses and congregations as they consider how to cut costs but maintain connection with members. Print costs money – paper, copying, and postage. And the Internet is free (es…
  • Blowing off Steam
    The air conditioner repair guys were lazy. They took the shortest distance to install the exhaust pipes – straight from the basement to the outside wall, right beside the entrance.  Don’t be alarmed: this is being fixed. Today. The…
  • Taking One for the Team
    It came out of left field. We were in hour two of a three-hour softball game for 9-10 year old girls. After a spring of flash flooding and rain-outs, the weather turned to summer overnight, and our shirts were sticky with sweat. My daughter w…
  • Domain over your Domain
    A domain name is pretty much like a tattoo. Once you get one, you better plan on keeping it for life.  Otherwise, prepare yourself for some pain. I speak from experience. Several years ago, I received an email asking why the diocesan yout…
  • Sing a New Song
    I just got back from the post office where I sent off my grant application to the Lilly Foundation for my first sabbatical in 30 years of ministry. Whether we get the funding or not, we are pushing ahead with a shared renewal experience for me and …
  • Kindness of FB friends
    Blanche DuBois relied on the kindness of strangers, but I am thankful for the kindness of Facebook. Already this morning, dozens of people from across every stage of my life have taken a moment to wish happy birthday on Facebook. On the surfa…
  • When the Outside Doesn’t Match the Inside
    A 22-year-old woman visited our church for the first time last Sunday. We talked for a bit, and then I shared that in addition to my husband and me, the congregation has several other young couples.  Later, I realized: she must have thought I w…
  • The Cacophony of Children
    I’m a firm believer: Children should be seen and heard in church. About eight years ago, we started an Episcopal church in a fast-growing area with few community buildings. Our only option for a meeting site was a small, one-room township h…
  • A Taste of Heaven
    Easter dinner doesn’t normally make me feel holy. Happy? Yes. Full to the brim with succulent ham, dumplings, green beans and three-layer chocolate cake? Yes, definitely. But holy? Not so much. That normally happens during the triumph…
  • Certain or Stuck?
    Most mornings when I wake up, my husband brings me a cup of coffee. When I’m at a hotel by myself, I make the coffee right after waking up. My first morning in Memphis, I was mildly annoyed when I noticed the pot was missing from the coffee m…
  • Morning Prayer Solitaire
    As part of our Lenten series on spirituality and social justice, Will, a new parishioner, taught one class on the use of daily Morning Prayer. He came to us from the Roman Catholic Church and has absolutely fallen maddeningly in love with the Book …
  • A Man Named Roscoe
    Roscoe doesn’t look like the rest of us. Whatever word he had tattooed across his knuckles has faded into unrecognizable squiggles. His hair, though neatly combed, hangs over his ears, several months past a cut. He talks about Jesus and the e…
  • We Gather Together: Conversations on Same-Gender Blessings 2
    This is the second of two blogs I am sharing from Katrina Hamilton who represented the Diocese of Olympia at the church-wide consultation on Same-Sex Blessings in Atlanta. Katrina is the 25-year-old head of our deputation to next year’s General C…
  • We Gather Together: Conversations on Same-Gender Blessings
  • Knee-deep: The tough work of being church
    The 10-ton truck was no match for a long-forgotten septic tank. The delivery of gravel for the driveway was on course until the truck reached the last section. The weight bore down and crushed the old metal lid. The tire sank into the hole, an…
  • Ear to the Ground
    I love this expression. It conjures up times as a kid when I literally pressed my ear to the rocky soil listening for clues about what was going on beneath the surface.  Years later, I often hear this expression in the context of what it means …
  • Change: Top down or bottom up? Or both?
    The question of how the church must change was the theme of the opening address at The Episcopal Church’s Executive Council meeting in Fort Worth. As reported by Episcopal News Service, House of Deputies President Bonnie Anderson used part of …
  • The Resurgent Church
    For the third year running I am taking part in a clergy action/study group called the Resurgent Church. It comes out of the incredible work of Anne Lukens, a rector in our diocese, who has convened small groups of 8-10 "practitioners" who meet for …
  • New Ministry Celebrations
    I have attended the new ministry celebrations for two absolutely amazing women priests who have now become rectors in the Diocese of Olympia. Rachel Taber-Hamilton is now in charge of Trinity, Everett, and Carla Pryne is the new pastor for Holy Spi…
  • Blue Notes
    Pull out a stack of post-it notes. With a blue pen, jot down the reality of the Episcopal Church as you see it now. Use one post-it note per idea. With a red pen, write down some of your hopes and vision for the Episcopal Church in the future. Use …
  • February Update: New Vestry Papers Content
    As promised, ECF Vital Practices continues to add to its January/February Vestry Papers themed content with two new articles: Covenants in Congregational Life In his role as the Episcopal Church’s Missioner for Church Planting, Ministry …
  • State of the Union, State of the Church
    The State of the Union address is a yearly snapshot of where our president thinks our nation stands. The State of the Episcopal Church report published every three years is a snapshot of where our church stands. In his address, President Obama …
  • Weathering Change
    What happens when your spouse changes? There are times when suddenly a new interest or commitment starts to unfold. Or a voice that’s been lingering deep within suddenly finds it’s way to the surface. Have you had one of those moments when you …
  • New Kind of Potluck at the Annual Meeting
    An announcement of the annual meeting can be as welcome as the postcard reminder of your  dental appointment: You know you’ve got to do it, but you’re not going to enjoy it.  Often, it seems, annual meetings stick to the same-old agenda -- …
  • The Most Fun You Ever Had in Church
    For a guy who hears a lot “you’re really fun – for a priest" I felt upstaged a bit when a local mega-church cancelled services and put the Seattle-Chicago NFL game up on their big screens this past Sunday morning. This story made it on the T.…
  • A Mega-Church Plant
    Traffic started about a mile from the entrance of the church.    Police and volunteers guided vehicles through the parking lot maze. At every door, greeters with genuine smiles welcomed us. They held eye contact and sometimes put a reassuring h…
  • Baby Boomers: Put down the microphone
    When the Twin Towers tumbled down, I held my newborn daughter tightly and prayed that we would work to end the violence, to find a way to connect despite different faiths and cultures. I suspect Christina-Taylor Green’s mother felt the same…
  • Resolution: Believe
    My dad can hold a grudge.  When someone has really wronged him, it’s hard for him to forgive. And forgetting doesn’t even enter the equation. This is one of the reasons I believe in a God that changes hearts and transforms lives. …
  • Transitive Verbs ... and Christmas
    We greened the church yesterday. An afternoon of draping fresh-cut evergreen boughs from pillar to pillar, arch to arch, inspired me to draft “greened” into service as a transitive verb. It occurs to me that our celebration of Christm…
  • Growing Pains
    I just got off the phone with a friend who’s been priest-in-charge of a congregation that's grown from an average Sunday attendance of 30 to about 80 in a little less than two years. "It’s a tough day!" she exclaimed. It was only noon. I'd …
  • BreakingTradition
    I broke with tradition last night. Normally the tree decorating ends in tears – mostly mine. See, I like my tree to be just so. The artificial limbs spread out in an appealing fan, the favorite ornaments occupying the prime real estate. …
  • Appreciate Me Now
    My 6-year-old is moving out. He informed me that on his 18th birthday, he’s having cake, then packing. He’s going to move in with one of his buddies so they can run a web show. But I’ll miss you, I protest. Well, he says, yo…
  • Back from Nuevo Amanecer
    I’m writing this blog post on my flight back from the Nuevo Amanecer Conference, an event I attended on behalf of the Episcopal Church Foundation. This conference is a once-in-two year gathering for those who are involved in Latino ministry. Atte…
  • Back to basics
    The first semester of our experiment ends tonight. My church is a typical county-seat congregation in the foothills of Appalachia. If only Christmas Eve were our typical attendance on Sunday mornings, we’d be a packed 150. Instead, most Sun…
  • The Mustard Seed
    A chance meeting at a jewelry party reminded me that I should have gone to church. I don’t sleep in on Sunday mornings very often. I’m a clergy spouse and a diocesan staff member and mother of two kids who love hanging out with their chur…
  • And the Gold Goes to ...
    E-mail addresses are gold. By Olympic award standards, the bronze medal goes to snail mail addresses. Cell phone numbers snag the silver. But e-mail addresses rise to the top of the podium. Managing the database for a congregation…
  • The Balance Between Crazy and Amazing
    My diocese is not known to have many money problems.    But when a committee started drafting the 2011 budget, they realized we were facing a shortfall. Like every church organization, we’ve tightened our belts, frozen salaries, and made toug…
  • Church and Sate
    The separation of church and state is a key cornerstone of the U.S. government. At the same time, everyone at my noonday meeting on Tuesday had cast their vote in a local church. This juxtaposition struck me today as we move from one of the most…
  • Voting as a Christian Responsibility
    Have you voted today? I love Election Day. Anywhere. For me, it epitomizes the essence of democracy: citizens taking time from their busy lives to vote, to make a choice that at the end of the day, determines the future direction of their comm…
  • Saints Alive
    Faye laundered money. Literally. At the small, rural church, she collected the offering at the end of the service and hid it in her clothes hamper until she could make it to the bank. We discovered the occasions when she washed the purse wi…
  • Hollow me out
    When he didn’t win the pumpkin contest, I felt the tears sting. For most of Saturday, we worked on Cinderella’s coach, pulling the slime out of the pumpkin, carving windows, fashioning a door (that really opened!) and decorating the coach as…
  • Going Green
    The Hope Conference (Healing Our Planet Earth (HOPE): Singing a New Song of Hope) was held in Seattle in 2008.  Featuring keynote speakers Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori and Bishop Stephen Charleston this event put the Episcopal Church …