Where's the Good Stuff this week?
Friday 6/19/26 roundup of what I've discovered on Substack
‘Good Stuff’ = articles I’ve read this week that inspired, educated, entertained, or moved me.
Which for a Free Range Priest, means reading more amazing, inspiring things about God, the church, the universe, and running.
Here’s this week’s roundup:
God stuff
‘Learning to See’ by Joshua Olson. ‘The theologian who helped secure Nicene orthodoxy presents his deepest reflection on death, the soul, and the love of God as something he received, from a woman, at her feet.’
‘The Freakin’ Miracle of Being Alive’ by Crystal R. Hammon. ‘And I thought, “Ministry of presence, my ass. All this woman needs is something no human being can give.”
Church stuff
‘Five Real Things In No Particular Order’ by Misha Sanders. ‘There were informal phone trees and schedules to make sure not everybody showed up at Sister Anita’s door on the first day after her surgery. But that was more to regulate the flow than to ensure the flow would happen. It was for sure gonna happen, because the church was full of people who were genuinely Sister Anita’s friends, and they weren’t about to let one square inch of her fridge and freezer remain uncasseroled.’
‘Feed my sheep - the 21st c. parish priest’ by A Wonderful and Sacred Mystery. ‘We become light so we may share light. We are fed so we may feed. The pastoral call is to engage people in their own renewal.’
Other stuff
‘What Am I Counting?’ by Arianne Rice. ‘All God ever sees is a child, a beloved child. God shows us we can see, and be, this way too.’
‘The Spiritual Practice of Reading Fiction’ by Sarah K. Butterfield. ‘Something happens at the soul level when it comes to stories. Consider how Jesus used short stories to teach the crowd. Think about how a whole congregation leans forward and pays attention when the pastor starts telling a story.’
What I wrote this week:
I’m deep into consolidating my ministry, so I’m re-issuing older articles…
Re-imagine full-time clergy
I have a hard time seeing a congregation of 35 as viable. Unless you are imagining a completely unpaid clergy force. Letting wardens be the “in charge” folks further entrenches the family size dynamic - clergy are just hired hands.
And finally…
At Free Range Priest, we’re bringing church to people.
Bite-sized ways that YOU can re-imagine ministry and get ‘unstuck’.
Right now. Today.
Subscribe to re-discover ministry JOY.
Thank you for the mention, Fr. Cathie!
Thanks for sharing my words here!