I led my first protest when I was 10. Grandpa had some stressful paperwork he was doing, and we were, allegedly, pestering him about getting ice cream, and he lost his temper, something he never did, and yelled. I felt this was unacceptable behavior and we should have ice cream.  I discussed this with my little sister, and we felt there were a variety of other issues too. They keep saying we’ll go to the amusement park this summer, but when?... The post Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost appeared first on Wicker Park Lutheran Church.

There are some people who love their commute, but I’m not one of them. I’m the person who sees driving from one place to another as, generally, a waste of time and an inconvenience. If I’m honest, driving is probably the place where I commit most of my sins–not in a road rage kind of way, but more so as a passionate fan watching a football game on TV. I vocalize to myself that the car in front of me needs to go faster, or I start shaking my head a someone running a red light, or I think something too inappropriate to say in a sermon... The post Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost appeared first on Wicker Park Lutheran Church.

Alright, I’m no fool, there’s animals in church, maybe you’re in charge of one of them, maybe one is actively trying to convince you to go pet them right now, like I’ve got to work to keep your attention this morning.  Why are there animals here today, Vicar? What a great question! Today we celebrate the Feast of St Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of merchants, needleworkers, families, and peace, as well as protection against fire, and dying alone. He is the joint patron St of Italy, along with St Catherine of Siena, founder of the Franciscan order, from whom we also get the Order of St Clare, put on the first ever live nativity scene and in 1224 had the first recorded case of stigmata! He’s also the patron saint of animals and ecology... The post Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi appeared first on Wicker Park Lutheran Church.

I need to confess that I don’t like today’s parable. It’s been a thorn in my side all week, and you’re probably getting the fourth rewrite of this sermon, but honestly, I stopped counting on Friday, so I don’t know. What makes me most uncomfortable is that I cannot seem to find the “gospel.” And when I say “gospel” I mean it in the Lutheran sense–the good news, that reminder of God’s grace, the recounting of God’s love, the thing that picks me up when the world kicks me down.  Instead, this parable has a lot of fire and brimstone, a lot of talk about an afterlife, and it is based on the actions of the rich man and Lazarus... The post Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost appeared first on Wicker Park Lutheran Church.

I’m the kind of person who loves a good plot twist in a book or a tv show or video game or whatever. You think the writer is setting the story to go one way and then BAM we ended up going somewhere else entirely. When it’s done well, well then you’ve got my full attention! Which is ironic because I also have this terrible habit when I’m at home of being like “yep, I know where my husband is going with this conversation about like all the yard work we need to do, I only need to half listen here.”  Until suddenly a sentence contains the phrase “with the fire” and it sounds like maybe a question was happening about this fire business and now he has my full attention again and I’m rapidly trying to piece together what led up to this, and…suddenly I’m not really feeling like a fan of plot twists anymore... The post Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost appeared first on Wicker Park Lutheran Church.

In today’s gospel, we heard the Pharisees complaining about Jesus’s leadership style. Remember, the Pharisees were religious leaders that had devoted themselves to a literal, conservative, and unchanging view of the Jewish Laws. They worked to follow over 600 Jewish laws, and these laws shaped their understanding of God and the world. From their perspective, they were doing God’s work by following these rules. So, when Jesus started fraternizing with those who didn’t follow these Jewish laws, they did what self-righteous religious people often do, they grumble... The post Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost appeared first on Wicker Park Lutheran Church.

The Jesus in today’s gospel is not my favorite. When I first read the text, I thought I should have stayed on sabbatical one more week and given this to Pastor Tom. Nevertheless, Jesus’ discussion of discipleship really struck a chord with me. It made the whole discipleship thing sound scary, intense, and it was off-putting... The post Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost appeared first on Wicker Park Lutheran Church.

May these words of my mouth and this meditation of all our hearts be acceptable to you O Lord, our welcome and our calling. Amen... The post Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost appeared first on Wicker Park Lutheran Church.

May these words of my mouth and this meditation of all our hearts be acceptable to you O Lord, our tradition and our imagination. Amen... The post Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost appeared first on Wicker Park Lutheran Church.

May these words of my mouth and this meditation of all our hearts be acceptable to you O Lord, our savior and our supplier. Amen... The post Feast of Mary, Mother of Jesus appeared first on Wicker Park Lutheran Church.