Sitting around the dinner table one night, our family had an illuminating conversation about data influences and ChatGPT on our current life and work. While tearing through some tater tot hotdish, we argued about the benefits and unforeseen consequences of AI use. One of the consequences being that fear around technology unleashes armageddon or at…
Dear Church,As I look forward to the season change, I am reminded of my weariness to changes in life. I notice a deep urgency for the long summer sun to warm the ground and everything attached. While at the same time, within me grows resistance to my aging body, changing without my permission. How can I…
Neighborhood! We have an exciting opportunity for our community coming up this May. We have been sharing for the past year our discussions with Westminster Presbyterian and their generous offer to gift us their building. Our original plan was to have two locations for Neighborhood. One at Westminster and one in Cloquet. In the past…
The first snow is magic. Absorbing sound and transfixing our senses, we forget the things that were common sense yesterday. We’re bewitched by slush and flurries and clouds. For me, this manifests into obsessive driveway clearing. Snow falls and I’m out with four different shovel types moving it off the driveway. Does our driveway need…
In my kindergarten classroom, alongside the alphabet cards was a line of rocket ships. Each rocket ship was assigned to a student and was blasting off towards the ceiling of success. Every day I would check on my rocket ship progress. Surprisingly, my rocket ship would move backward, or not at all. When I asked…
Dear Church, Sabbath is one old religious word. For Christians, it can be a guide post, reminding us to pause from our work for rest and renewal. We learn about Sabbath as the day of rest that God enacted after creating all the things. This opens up curiosity for us all as we ask, Does God…
When I was a stay-at-home parent, I needed government support and non-profit support to help feed and care for myself and my kids. Every time I pulled out my WIC checks, or medical assistance cards, I would glance around to see if anyone was watching. When I would go to the government services building, toting…
During some spring cleaning, I noticed a fly, dried up and clinging hopefully to my window screen. Usually, the bottom window track is the place to catch fly parts, but this death was unusual and I took notice. What happened here? While it seems reasonable that the fly tried to exit through the screen, why did it…
A year ago, I retold this old biblical story about Ezekiel and the dry bones. Like all good stories, it still resonates with us today. This is my take on the story from Ezekiel 37. Once upon a time, a tragic prophet, demoralized by his captors, had a dream. In his dream, he was lifted up…
During this season of Lent, our eyes are turned towards war. While we are not actively under attack, we bear witness to the dominion, subjugation, and exploitation of our fellow humans.We see the terror, the fight, the resilience, and the unknown. We ask ourselves seemingly unanswerable questions. We cry tears for wounds we can’t heal,…