Don’t get weary. Don’t get discouraged. Don’t get played. Do you. That was the charge given to my friend the Rev. Jacqueline Duhart as she was installed as Associate Minister for Faith In Action at First Unitarian Church of Oakland on October 5. It was a good Sunday, and a deeply self-reflective one forContinue reading “My friend’s installation and my own journey in ministry”
Category Archives: missional ministry
Michael Brown, Worship this Sunday, and Confusing Unity with Comfort
I am tired of my church breaking my family’s heart. I wasn’t going to write about Michael Brown. Many others have already done so, reflectively and powerfully, including writing about the role of the White church in the midst of this moment of pain. I wasn’t going to write about it because I’ve written on itContinue reading “Michael Brown, Worship this Sunday, and Confusing Unity with Comfort”
Homelessness, the woman on my patio and the Woman at the Well
Sermon preached at First Christian Church of Palo Alto, August 10, 2014. Text: John 4:5-15 (with references to later verses), the story of the Woman at the Well Preamble to the sermon: I am known in some circles for preaching a really up-on-your-feet, clap and shout amen kind of sermon. I think that was whyContinue reading “Homelessness, the woman on my patio and the Woman at the Well”
The Myth of Street Smarts versus Book Smarts
Delivered June 13, 2014, at Disciples Divinity House at the University of Chicago annual Convocation. I looked, and a hand was stretched out to me, and a written scroll was in it. He spread it before me; it had writing on the front and on the back, and written on it were words of lamentation andContinue reading “The Myth of Street Smarts versus Book Smarts”
Truth, facts, and the La Paz Cathedral: vacation thoughts on postmodernity
I visited a Jesuit mission church on Wednesday, in the city of La Paz. The missions along the West Coast of Mexico and the United States have a very complex history of bringing faith that people value deeply today but also bringing coercion and violence and conquest. Nonetheless, the guide focused mostly on telling usContinue reading “Truth, facts, and the La Paz Cathedral: vacation thoughts on postmodernity”
Ekklesia: Are you just somebody that I used to know?
Is Christian Privilege killing the church? At what some of my colleagues saw as the breaking point of Occupy Oakland, January 28, 2012, one of my friends said, “Ah, Occupy Oakland, now you’re just somebody that I used to know.” For a lot of folks committed to seeing a justice-filled peace in Oakland, Occupy wasContinue reading “Ekklesia: Are you just somebody that I used to know?”
The liberal church and the front lines–where are we?
Duck Dynasty, the Nation of Islam and the failure of liberal Christianity A good evangelical friend of mine predicted that I would fail at growing First Christian Church of Oakland not long after I started pastoring there. I told her about what kind people were there, and about their racial diversity and their openness toContinue reading “The liberal church and the front lines–where are we?”
A pastor, a reluctant prophet, and someone who doesn’t want to be a trope walk down the street. (On letting go of pastoral identity for the health of the community and how the community may not love you for it)
I was walking down the street a week ago, when I passed a woman on the sidewalk. In retrospect, I’m impressed the ground did not crack beneath me; people a mile away who were having a perfectly pleasant day in that moment thought, “Woah! Why do I feel so totally bummed all of a sudden?”Continue reading “A pastor, a reluctant prophet, and someone who doesn’t want to be a trope walk down the street. (On letting go of pastoral identity for the health of the community and how the community may not love you for it)”
Donate to the Outside-the-Box Emergency/Solidarity Fund TODAY!
Ministry comes at a cost to the minister, and it’s a cost s/he takes on gladly, because it’s worth it to get to be a part of the daily miracles that happen in a powerful spiritual community. This is a story of a cost that a minister, and a community, should not have had toContinue reading “Donate to the Outside-the-Box Emergency/Solidarity Fund TODAY!”
Sermons from days long ago
Someone recently told me I have a bunch of sermons on youtube, so I thought I’d provide links to them in case you’re interested in my liberation-lite preaching. There are also a couple of audio links and a few sermon manuscripts (go figure!) Unless otherwise specified, these were preached at First Christian Church of Oakland.
Sandhya Rani Jha 