Rows of bright white chairs standing in stark relief to the pitch-black darkness of the sky.  The empty cross on the lawn, soon to be flowered, is nothing more than a shadow. There is something solemn...  Read More

On your mark, get set, go These words are said at the starting line - the beginning of a race. For onlookers, spectators, or those who have never participated in a race, the starting line looks like t...  Read More

There is an old expression about sermon titles I used to share with the seminary students I supervised.  “Will it get them off the bus?”  It refers to the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church and its sign...  Read More

Growing up we had a ton of trees in our yard. We would refer to them as “the woods” next to our house. Being in Georgia, most of those trees were sticky pine trees. Pinecones and pine straw littered m...  Read More

I have fond memories from elementary school of running around on the playground making silly promises. But even young Melissa knew that a promise made was only as good as the word of the promise maker...  Read More

If you have ever spent any time far from the city and the suburbs, the night sky is simply miraculous. During those long nights alone in the wilderness, I bet Jesus spent a lot of time looking up into...  Read More

Mindful, by Mary OliverEvery dayI see or I hearsomethingthat more or lesskills mewith delight,that leaves melike a needlein the haystackof light.It is what I was born for –to look, to listen…to lose m...  Read More

I recognize that this may not be the most popular thing to say, especially with the current popularity of the musical, Wicked, but I have always hated the movie, The Wizard of Oz.  What is a cherished...  Read More

Many mornings, when my cats are awake far earlier than I and have more energy than I have ever been able to muster in the morning, I ask my cats to tell me their tale of woe. Kobe Kat especially loves...  Read More

Picture a crowded cocktail party.  Two vague acquaintances find themselves face to face. “Hi, how are you?”  “Fine, how are you doing?”  “Great, a little tired, but aren’t we all?” “Too much work, rig...  Read More

“The battles the Greek heroes had to fight were against their enemies.  The battles their Jewish counterparts had to fight were against themselves: their fears, their hesitations, their sense of unwor...  Read More

I am a less than enthusiastic negotiator. Before I went to seminary I spent some time working with Central American refugees in Mexico.  There were many challenges but the hardest one for me was engag...  Read More