Sher Gerber
Tending Sacred Spaces
Category: Writings
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Into the Wilderness
Just like your life is organized around different rhythms—the seasons, the rotation of months, the school year—so, too, the life of the church follows a cycle of rituals and celebrations. Following the excesses of Shrove Tuesday, Ash Wednesday comes with its invitation to remember our mortality. While our contemporary culture encourages us to live in…
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(Changes) Around the Table
Some time ago, I came across this beautiful poem by poet laureate Joy Harjo entitled “Perhaps the World Ends Here” (you can read the full poem here) It begins: The world begins at a kitchen table. No matter what, we must eat to live. The gifts of earth are brought and prepared, set on the…
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Lenten Retreat
In one week, Christians around the world will receive the imposition of ashes as part of the liturgy and remembrance of Ash Wednesday. This begins the liturgical season of Lent. Lent is a season where we give up something to make more space It is about seeing more clearly. Listening more closely. Seeking after God…
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On the Threshold…
The change of seasons, liminal spaces and being on the threshold– all of these transitional moments are opportunities for reflection, reassessment and reconnection. Next week begins the liturgical season of Lent; this is a time in the church year that commemorates Jesus’ 40 days in the wilderness and that we use to prepare our hearts…
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A Shoot from the Stump: The Good News of Christmas
We often talk about the gospel message– the teachings of Jesus and the salvation that is made known through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus– as Good News. Those words are familiar as they are announced by the angel to the shepherds in Luke’s accounting of Jesus’ birth: “I am bringing good news of…
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Preparing for Christmas…
“Often when we are in a period of discernment our hearts become noisy with choices and possibilities. We try to think our way through things to an outcome. We create lists of pros and cons. These can sometimes be helpful but they encourage us to whittle our life choices down to tangibles, when ofen what…
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Unchosen Journeys: Caregiving (Part 3)
This is not the story I thought I’d be living. And yet here we are. What can be done to help the caregivers around us? How can we protect our health and well-being as we care for our families? What can we do to make caregiving sustainable? Here are a few ideas This is the…
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Unchosen Journeys: Caregiving (Part 2)
As with many things in life, caregiving is complicated. Whether you are a caregiver, care-receiver or walking with a friend or family member in one of these roles, it is helpful to consider the significant emotional realities that people are dealing with. Whether or not it is an acknowledged reality, as a caregiver, you are…
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Unchosen Journeys: Caregiving (Part 1)
We know death comes for us all. There is no escaping it. But when you or a loved one receives a terminal diagnosis, everything changes. Suddenly, this isn’t the story I thought I’d be living. I don’t expect you to care about my particular story, I told the caregivers gathered in the church fellowship hall…
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A Blessing: for when you are living a nightmare
When fear lodges in your throat When anxiety crouches at your feet When the monster of what if sits on you chest May you stay present to what is, not catastrophizing When you are holding on to the end of your rope When you cannot see a path forward, a way through May you refuse…