“christian communities continue the work of Jesus. they are sent to be a presence to people who are living in darkness and despair. the people who come into these communities also respond to the call and the cry of the weak and the oppressed. they enter into the covenant with Jesus and the poor. they […]
Read Morerethinking the word "pastor"
i have had this post swirling around in my head for over a year now and am finally taking the time to put these thoughts about the word “pastor” in black-and-white. 6 years ago on january 1st i went on a church staff as a “pastor.” looking back, the whole thing is so weird because […]
Read Morewaiting, hoping, expecting the wrong things
oh, advent started out hopeful for me. and then this past week i tanked. the trouble is that i actually tanked myself. i did the thing i should not do, should not do, should not do. i read too much online. i looked at too many other churches’ websites. i read about $40 million building […]
Read Morethe up-and-down-sides of inclusion
the other day i went to a catholic mass for a quincenera. it was a lovely service in so many ways; i love these kinds of celebratory, sacred moments to honor life’s passages. the priest was amazing and shared one of the best homilies i have ever heard about Jesus, the master teacher of Love. […]
Read Morelittle pockets of love
if you’ve been reading the carnival for a while most of you know that i’m a little on the passionate side when it comes to “the church.” i have had many a critic say “you are so anti-church” because i sometimes call out the inconsistencies & injustices in the system. and at the same time, […]
Read MoreJesus school: not the most inspiring in town
many of you know that when i describe the refuge i use words like “messy, chaotic, honest, uncomfortable, unpredictable.” it is so funny to me, looking back on the past 3 ½ years how the world that i came from was completely different. on mega-church staff we used words like “focused, distraction-free, inspiring, dark-so-you-don’t-have-to-see-the-person-next-to-you, comfortable.” […]
Read Morea busy bee
ah, life at the escobar house is always an adventure. it’s been a good season for all kinds of refuge community fun, we’re on our last week of summer before the kids go back to school & our wonderful friends from portland–ken loyd & jessica roye from home-pdx in portland just left. they are seriously […]
Read Moreleadership lessons when you want to run for the hills
hey, did i scare everyone off with that last post? i hope not! one of the things you non-bloggers need to know is there’s nothing worse than putting something a little risky out there and not getting very many comments! and one of the things all you bloggers know is that part of this journey […]
Read Morecreating containers for beauty, justice, community & healing
this past week was a really wild one. i know i say that a lot, but sometimes there are weeks that stick out above others as truly over-the-top. this week wasn’t nearly as brutal emotionally as some have been, it just happened to be jam packed with the weirdest combination of starts and finishes and […]
Read More"we are one" & more ramblings about justice
well we’re back from our crazy rome trip. we were only there a little over 24 hours because that is what jose’s layover was (for those of you who don’t know he is a pilot for united airlines to pay our bills & a new lawyer for a legal aid clinic here in denver because […]
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