Danae Ashley The Rev. Danae Ashley is an Episcopal priest, international speaker, and voiceover actress who has ministered with parishes in North Carolina, New York, Minnesota, and the Seattle area and is a psychotherapist at Soul Spa Seattle, LLC. Danae uses art, music, drama, poetry, and movement in counseling, spiritual direction, and creation of ritual. She…

[RCL] Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28; Psalm 14; 1 Timothy 1:12-17; Luke 15:1-10 In these parables, we almost always look at the lost sheep or the lost coin. We imagine ourselves as the one lost and Jesus leaving all the others to find us. Or perhaps we imagine ourselves as part of the obedient flock, the ones…

Job 1:1; 2:1-10 It has been said that the Book of Job is where the Bible runs off a cliff! The text probes the mystery of suffering, but ultimately yields no satisfactory answer. The great contribution of Job lies in its realistic assessment of the explanations that traditional theology often provides for suffering. Those traditions…

The easiest way for a preacher to deal with the challenging story in today’s Gospel reading might be to understand it as simply a metaphor for events we already know well – another tale of deadly confrontation between Jesus and the Jewish leadership of his day. As we heard at the end of the passage,…

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. It is a delicate to talk about things…

Before it was a noun, “thanksgiving” was a verb. The difference matters. A desert father once said: “If you have a chest full of oranges, and leave it for a long time,the fruit will rot inside of it.It is the same with the thoughts in our heart.If we do not carry them out by physical…

Participación electoral We recognize election engagement as an act of Christian stewardship and a tangible way to love our neighbors. Our mandate to care for God’s world and people compels us, morally and spiritually, to vote—and to help ensure voting access for others. Election engagement also means we seek to stay informed; critically evaluate information before we share or act on it; and engage in respectful political dialogue even when…

Jeremiah 8:18-9:1 There are times of great suffering in which we may feel that all hope is lost and that there may never be joy in our souls again.  This may be triggered by the loss of a loved one or from a tragedy in your local community or nation.  There are painful events in…

Deuteronomy 26:1-11 Who knew that we could talk about stewardship in some time of the calendar year other than September, October, or November? This passage from Deuteronomy helps us to recall that everything that we have is a gift. All that is, is God’s, not ours – we have only received a portion. We return…