Brown Memorial Park Avenue Presbyterian Church

Michele:  So, how are you feeling about the sabbatical? Andrew:  I can’t wait!  Next week I’ll head to my two week timber frame building class in the Berkshires assembling there with a group of strangers who will literally build a house together. Then a few weeks later I’ll travel to the Protestant monastic community of … Continue reading New Wineskins Dialogue

When I was growing up in the anti-Catholic, Protestant world in which I was raised, I was reminded often of the differences between our two traditions.  They needed a priest to be a mediator between them and God. We didn’t need a mediator – Jesus was that for us. They believed they could earn salvation … Continue reading The Marks of the Wounded

“Why do you look for the living among the dead?”  It’s a good question and not just for the women at the tomb on Easter morning.  How often do we look for the living among the dead? Looking for life in places where there is none?  Tending to the corpses of former visions of ourselves, … Continue reading Remembering the Future

The story of Jesus and his followers is a story written for and by people who experienced both privilege and oppression. The story of the triumphal entry is full of joyful singing and excitement, and it is full of insurrection. This crowd of disciples calling out to Jesus were committing treason by shouting that … Continue reading A Song to Sing

I grew up in a household that saved everything and wasted nothing.  We washed our Ziploc bags.  Grocery bags were always re-used.  Clothes are worn way past their style expiration dates.  My siblings and I still poke fun at my mother who keeps us shivering in the winter and a little too warm in the … Continue reading Honoring the Body

I have heard it said that the sound of our own name is one of the sweetest sounds we will ever hear. In fact, our brains activate in a particular way when we hear our names rather than the names of other people. From an early age, we are predisposed to hear our names … Continue reading Are You There, God? It’s Me, Samuel.

It would be easier to resist the devil if he wasn’t so helpful.  The devil in this story is the only one to come and help Jesus in the wilderness.   Mark’s Gospel says that the angels waited on him.  But there’s no room service in Luke.  Jesus, led by the Spirit, is on his … Continue reading Saying Yes and Saying No

This is one of those miracles most church-going types know. It is one of those strange Jesus moments that reminds us that he wasn’t all about curing the sight of the blind and resurrecting people from the dead, although those miracles are powerful in their own right. Jesus cares about drinking wine, too, this story … Continue reading Where’s the Miracle?