When I was a teacher, some of my favorite stories to read to a group of five-year-old’s were stories that flipped common narratives on their head. Stories which could be told backward and forward, but when you added a different perspective, things changed quite a bit. Our gospel lesson today, while you have probably heardContinue reading “Waiting in the Dark”
Tag Archives: Prayer
The Task of Advent
Long before I became an Episcopalian or had thoughts of being a priest who might be tasked with preaching, I was a preschool teacher. And while there are many surprising things that overlap between being in ministry and the daily care and education of four and five-year-olds, one of the surprising overlaps is the wayContinue reading “The Task of Advent”
Warning! The Beginning is Near!
We stood side by side in silence at the bottom of the massive steps. It was at the end of a long journey: only a few days on the calendar, but months in planning and years in prayer. My friend, Whit, who co-led our Diocese Pilgrimage to Montgomery and Selma with me last month,Continue reading “Warning! The Beginning is Near!”
Do Good and Share What You Have
This week as I prepared to get my hair cut for the first time since moving to Lexington, I braced for the task that many introverts fear: the haircut small talk. But in my forty-something years of life, I’ve chosen to lean into what makes me me, and I don’t tend to spend much timeContinue reading “Do Good and Share What You Have”
Running Toward Hope Together
My paternal grandmother had this habit; having grown up in the foothills that rolled off the Appalachian Mountains in East Tennessee, she was barely educated. When I went off to college, my folks had a bit of advice, as parents are known to do. Their advice was to write my grandmother hand-written notes. I pickedContinue reading “Running Toward Hope Together”
Praying and Trusting Like Jesus
Before I went to seminary to become a priest, I was a preschool teacher. Now, there are many surprisingly transferable skills between the two, but I think my favorite way in which my past connects with my present is how it helps me understand that we are all learning and growing and changing. I rememberContinue reading “Praying and Trusting Like Jesus”
Worried and Distracted? Do Less
One of the delightfully weird gifts of being Christians in the year of Our Lord 2025 is that we get to reflect on some of the more unique and quirky Christian narratives that have made up our religious history. The people, stories, and power of our sacred text did not survive 2,000 years without someContinue reading “Worried and Distracted? Do Less”
The Measure We Give
There are times when I turn to the Holy Scriptures and God’s comfort is undeniable, but sometimes, on the first read, I can read our sacred texts as an impossible bar to clear. In today’s gospel, I have to confess, my first thoughts were that I do not love my enemies as I should;Continue reading “The Measure We Give”
A Communal Cruciform Life
In the Fall of 2019, the Rev. Michael Vollman, who ministers to Trinity Episcopal Church in Russellville, Kentucky, invited a small group of clergy from the western half of our diocese for a tour of the SEEK Museum. The SEEK Museum[1] works to uncover the stories of enslavement, freedom, equality, and justice for BlackContinue reading “A Communal Cruciform Life”
Thy Kingdom Come
Over 120 years ago, a fictional Irish character, Mr. Dooley, was written by Finely Peter Dunne, and he penned one of the best summaries of the preacher’s job as he went into a rant about the state of newspapers these days. Christian leaders back in 1902, were quick to lift the phrase, “afflict the comfortable,Continue reading “Thy Kingdom Come”
Becca Kello 