Nancy Springer

Getting Thanks in Order (no, that’s not a typo)

Happy American Thanksgiving! Do you want to knock the “happy” out of that sentence? I have to admit it’s hard work to feel the “happy” even as I smell pumpkin bread in the oven. This isn’t the day any of us would have envisioned way back in January or even in May or June …Continue reading “Getting Thanks in Order (no, that’s not a typo)”

Who’s the Boss of You?

Sunday, November 22, 2020Christ the King SundayEzekiel 34:11-16, 20-24Psalm 100Ephesians 1:15-23Matthew 25:31-46http://lectionarypage.net/YearA_RCL/Pentecost/AProp29_RCL.html Every year, when this last Sunday after Pentecost rolls around, it seems I find it more and more challenging to talk about what it means not just to say Christ is King but to live it. In first century Palestine, when Jesus walkedContinue reading “Who’s the Boss of You?”

This is Personal

Coffee, prayer, and a fire – it’s a good morning, y’all. Can we talk about the Coronavirus, please? Nothing political, I promise. This is personal. Please don’t let statistics dehumanize the victims of this virus. In a family of four a .0004% national death rate becomes 25%, someone’s mother, father, child, or sibling. Every ‘case’Continue reading “This is Personal”

Do not be Afraid

Based on the RCL for Sunday, November 15, 2020Matthew 25:14-30 Jesus tells a parable of investing in relationships: a man goes away and leaves each of three servants with something to care for based on their abilities. Two of them take what they’ve been given and “traded” with it – I imagine a bustling marketplace,Continue reading “Do not be Afraid”

Further up and Further in

“I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now…Come further up, come further in!” ― C.S. Lewis, The Last Battle Here’s hearty and hardy question for us to ponder: How can we makeContinue reading “Further up and Further in”

Keeping our Lamps Ready

I’m late with this week’s Living Sunday School post (using the lectionary readings from November 8, 2020). I was hanging out with my 2 year old granddaughter (ok, and my son, too) so I know you’ll understand. But I didn’t want to skip it all together because this particular parable teaches us so much aboutContinue reading “Keeping our Lamps Ready”

Gratitude and Community

It’s been a difficult week for words. I want nothing more than to speak peace and comfort into the anxiety and pain so many of us are collectively experiencing but I’m not sure I have the right words. I do know that regardless if the results of this election week are what you want themContinue reading “Gratitude and Community”

We are blessed when we bless

The Lectionary readings for Sunday, November 1, 2020Revelation 7:9-17Psalm 34:1-10, 221 John 3:1-3Matthew 5:1-12 Just about a year ago I wrote a post on The Beatitudes and the Ten Commandments in my series on Compassion. If you have time, I encourage you to read it here. To live the beatitudes requires us to change ourContinue reading “We are blessed when we bless”

Is It I, Lord?

I woke up with this song in my head this morning. When I hear it, I imagine pelicans flying along the waves of the ocean and I’m fairly certain the connection between this song and that scene comes from Jurassic Park, but that has absolutely no bearing on what I’m going to write about hereContinue reading “Is It I, Lord?”

Not My Agenda

As I begin this blog, I attempt to make no assumptions about who might or might not read these posts. I’ve learned how easy it is to fall into the thought patterns of “I’m leading worship in an Episcopal church and these wonderful folks are sitting in Episcopal pews, singing songs from the Episcopal hymnal,Continue reading “Not My Agenda”