Barbara Lemmel

Barbara Lemmel co-pastors with her husband, Mitchell Hay, in the Adirondack Mountains of New York State.

Articles by Barbara Lemmel

Living by the Word

Eavesdropping

Micah 6:1-8
1 Corinthians 1:18-31
Matthew 5:1-12
Psalm 15

Jan 20, 1999 by Barbara Lemmel

In her book Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year, Anne Lamott describes the afternoon she misplaced her father. His brain cancer had progressed to the point where he was functioning much like an eager-to-please three-year-old. Lamott had brought him along with her one day as she ran errands.

Living by the Word

Makeshift communities

Isaiah 9:1-4
Psalm 27:1, 4-9
1 Corinthians 1:10-18
Matthew 4:12-23

Jan 06, 1999 by Barbara Lemmel

A young rabbi found a serious problem in his new congregation. During the Friday service, half the congregation stood for the prayers and half remained seated, and each side shouted at the other, insisting that theirs was the true tradition. Nothing the rabbi said or did moved toward solving the impasse.

Living by the Word

Rare sightings

Isaiah 42:1-9
Psalm 29
Acts 10:34-43
Matthew 3:13-17

Dec 23, 1998 by Barbara Lemmel

The water flows cleanly here, just a few miles from the source of the Hudson River, deep in the Adirondack Mountains. The big puffs of foam that form on the surface of the water aren't evidence of agricultural runoff, but rather the result of rainwater leeching through the forest floor.