What I'm reading this week

Time for another new feature on the blog...one that I mentioned in my very first post and then have been too busy to actually get started!

Which means that I cannot promise that this will be a regular weekly feature, but that is certainly the goal. The "What I'm reading this week" feature is exactly what it sounds like, a list of articles, blogs, websites, and stories that I'm following this week. Many of them will directly relate to the sermon that I'm preparing this week (call it homiletical homework) but it will also include articles from the UCC's national website, interesting things going on close to home in the Southwest Conference, and (frankly) whatever other interesting thing I stumble upon that I think you might be interested in too. Some of it will be silly, some of it serious, all of it things I'm reading. You can click on the linked title of each piece, or just trust my own little snippet synopsis.

So with that word of introduction out of the way, here is what I'm reading this last week of January, 2009.

SarahLaughed.net
For my money, simply the best lectionary blog on the planet. I'll link to it often in this space, but just because it isn't here, doesn't mean I'm not reading it. I read it every week and I am consistently touched/challenged/inspired by what Sarah Dylan Breuer has to say. In fact, click on the link, bookmark it, and come back often.

JourneyWithJesus.net
Dan Clendenin is another favorite of mine, and he gets referenced in my sermons frequently. Bookmark this one too. This week he wrestles with the intriguing question: Who speaks for God? (Note: just because you see a picture of Pat Robertson right away, don't assume he's saying Pat Robertson is the right answer to the question!).

Heavy Hitters Planned for Synod
The General Synod Planning Committee has released their list of Speakers for this summers national gathering of the church in Grand Rapids, MI. The list is headlined by renowned journalist and author Eugene H. Robinson and also includes such familiar names as Ray Suarez, Rev. Barbara Brown Taylor, and Rev. Jim Wallis.

Harmonies on Liberty
The sermon delivered by Rev. Dr. Sharon Watkins (General Minster and President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), my "other" denomination) at the National Prayer Service at the invitation of President Barack Obama.

Covenant Connections
If you aren't reading John Dorhauer's blog, then you need to start immediately. In fact, stop reading right now and click on the link...okay, you back now? Pretty cool, huh? It is the best way to keep with the Southwest Conference and the adventures of our Conference Minister. John does a tremendous job sharing the stories of our Conference and showing us the faces of the people who are making all that ministry possible.

Wordle.net
An amazing graphics program created by Jonathan Feinberg. Insert any text into the CREATE window and it randomly renders it as "beautiful word clouds." Don't like the way it turned out? Hit the "Randomize" button again, or edit the type yourself. Hard to explain, but fun to use, and an easy way to waste a couple of hours. The pic at the top of this post is a Wordle rendering of last Sunday's sermon.