E. Carrington Heath
February 14, Ash Wednesday (Joel 2:1-2, 12-17; Psalm 51:1-17)
There are two sure things in life: death and sin.
Tomboys, trans folks, and the Times
Gender transitions can be lifesaving. But they're not the right path for everyone.
Trauma, trigger warnings, and making a little space
During the earliest years of my ministry I served as a hospital chaplain, shepherding both religious and non-religious patients and families through the worst days of their lives....
In defense of the church building
It seems like every week I hear someone in the wider church say, “You know, the church is more than the building.”
...
Being they: God and nonbinary gender
We call God "Father" and "Mother" because children don't say "Parent, Parent." But what will my children call me?
Donald Trump and the gratitude gap
The realization came to me while watching the “Mothers of the Movement” speaking at the Democratic National Convention. These mothers of children who had died too young and too violently, Sandra Bland, Trayvon Martin, Jordan Davis, and more, had come to Philadelphia to speak. Sandra Bland’s mom was leading them off with words of faith and grace.
And that’s when I thought about Donald Trump’s speech at his own convention last week, and about the overarching message of fear, intolerance, and negativity that has come to define his campaign.
On restrooms, gender, and fear
My wife and I have a joke. We tell it when we are out in public, at an airport or a restaurant or concert, and I need to use the bathroom. When I stand up to find a restroom I say to her, “Okay, honey, if I’m not out in five minutes, come look for me.”
We always laugh but, actually, it’s not that funny.
The danger of the crowd
When I was in middle school and high school I wanted to go to one of the service academies. In order to help secure an appointment, I joined a military cadet program in seventh grade. In many ways it was a good experience, and so I am not naming the specific program here, as I believe it does teach many young people about leadership, self-discipline, and teamwork. But it was also through this program that I had an experience that taught me a lesson I have never forgotten.
Enough about the other brother
I often worry that churches are too full of people who are not disappointments.
Our hours
One of the few fairnesses of life is the fact that each of us is given an equal 168 hours per week. That is where equality in so many ways ends. From that point on our privileges or lack thereof, and the resources they bring, define what we can do with that time.
March 6, Fourth Sunday in Lent: Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32
It has become almost a cliché for preachers to focus on the older brother of the Prodigal Son. Too often, not even our churches let us be the fallen brother who desperately wants to come home.
Third Sunday in Lent: Isaiah 55:1-9; Luke 13:1-9
We don’t talk about idolatry much anymore, despite the caution against it in everything from the Ten Commandments to the New Testament epistles. This is ironic, because idolatry flourishes in our culture.
On throwing the baby Jesus out with the bath water
I love the United Church of Christ.
I do. After growing up a “spiritual but not religious” “none” at the tail end of Generation X, I found my way into Christ’s church at the age of 17 and was baptized.
Atticus and me
I read To Kill a Mockingbird the summer between eighth and ninth grade. It was a hot southern summer and my mom and I went into a bookstore to look for some indoor reading....
Bravery is not a contest
Last week Caitlyn Jenner’s picture appeared on the front cover of Vanity Fair. Immediately people online began to juxtapose her photo next to photos of veterans and first responders, saying that “real bravery” looked like the latter, and that Caitlyn was not brave.
I reject that false dichotomy.
What kind of a pastor does your church really want?
About six months ago I started a new call as the senior pastor of a church in New Hampshire. I truly loved the congregation I previously served, but with a wife who had just graduated from seminary herself, and a feeling that God was nudging me to something new, I began the long discernment that comes with a pastoral search process.
Unlike my first search process, where I sent my profile (the UCC version of a pastor’s resume) to just about every church that was searching, I was more selective.
The "next big thing" for the progressive church
“So, now that we have LGBT equality in the progressive mainline church, what are we going to do now? What’s the next big thing?”
...The tyranny of consensus
A couple weeks ago I finished my pastorate in Vermont and moved to Exeter, New Hampshire, where I will be starting a new pastorate next week.
...Not just hoops
Earlier this year I attended an ordination service for a good friend....
Falling: Recovery, silence, and the church
After a childhood spent envying the boys on the football team, I joined my college’s rugby team. My first night I learned how to throw a tackle. More importantly, I learned how to be tackled. The idea was this: you’re going to fall. You’d might as well learn how to fall safely, so that you can stand back up.