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Observations on Recent Violence

When the news of Charlie Kirk’s assassination broke, many of my clergy colleagues across the country did what all good spiritual leaders do: they decried violence in all forms for all reasons.  I add my voice to this chorus.  While my social media feed is filled with pastors and Christians denouncing all violence (and advocating for gun control), I am aware some people out there are celebrating Kirk’s death.  If your social media stream is filled with people doing that, you need to find new friends.  And if you've got friends who are publicly mourning Kirk but haven't said anything about the Annunciation shooting, you also need to find new friends.   Some of my clergy colleagues also acknowledged how Kirk fueled hostility, which there is plenty of video of.   This got me thinking how I should respond. While I don’t have millions of followers, I’ve become more aware in the last two years how people are shaped by my words as a semi-public figure. ...
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Social Media Influencer - Uff

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I want to start by saying that we all need to be supporting our local food shelves.  Now to the post... I’ve had a series of videos popping up on my social media feeds by a content creator named Nikalie who is doing so-called ‘social experiments’.   She pretends to be a mom needing formula with a recording of a baby in the background.   Here are two examples of many.   Watch before you read on.   https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTMsrQGtb/ and https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTMsrvBgb/ You will notice that in the comments, people are outraged.   I’m irritated too, but for different reasons.   If Nikalie runs across this post, I hope she calls my church because I want to explain that, without knowing it, she is doing more harm than good.   I truly think she has good intentions, but she is lacking some context. The most common thing you will hear in these videos is that the churches refer the Nikalie to a food shelf or other organization that is set up to meet ...
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Free Range Chickens

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I used to get eggs from a friend who had free range chickens in her yard.  The chickens wandered around everyday eating ticks and whatever else they found.  These chickens' eggs were so good—hard shells, dark yoke, and yummy.  I’ve never tasted a store-bought egg, even those marked “free range,” like the eggs from these truly free chickens. The United Methodist Church is a mess.  I don’t need to go into the details.  Most of you know what’s happened.  And if you don’t, a quick google search will fill you in quick.  Like most United Methodists in the US, I’m sad, especially for the pastors who identify as LGBTQI+ and pastors who are leading divided congregations.  Grief.  Frustration. Vulnerability.  It's all part of this.  I must be honest with myself too.  I’m in a safe church, which is mostly of one mind.  As a cis-gender, heterosexual woman I have a ton of privilege in how I frame the debacle of the last few week...
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