Rev. Danielle K Bartz                                                                                            October 2, 2022         Mark 10:13-16                                                                                                               Child-Like This Tuesday morning as my clergy group was gathering for its weekly text study, we were catching up on life news as we settled in.  One member of our group was tired and explained why.  At the moment he is the primary caregiver […]

Rev. Danielle K Bartz                                                                                     September 25, 2022  Matthew 5:21-26                                                                        On Worship and Reconciliation The first thing I thought when I read this scripture was, after an internal deep sigh, “You know Jesus, you said we had to hate our families in order to truly follow you and now you are saying we have […]

Rev. Danielle K Bartz                                                                                     September 18, 2022  John 16:16-22                                                                                                       “Liminal Space” About a month ago I was watching my friend’s 3-year-old daughter for a few hours as a last-minute babysitting need arose for them.  The little girl doesn’t know me particularly well, and as she is not fond of new people, she kept […]

Rev. Danielle K Bartz                                                                                     September 11, 2022  2nd Corinthians 1:8-11                                                                                “First Day of School” My Facebook feed has been filled with first day of school pictures posted by friends and family.  Pictures of little ones starting preschool, all the way to one friend of mine who posted a picture of her first day […]

Rev. Danielle K Bartz                                                                                       September 4, 2022    Luke 7:14-23                                                                                                                    “Tuning” I listen to classical music all day long.  It is on at home, in my car, and my office.  I even leave it on at the house when I’m not there, thinking it helps my dog to relax (though truthfully, he can’t hear […]

Rev. Danielle K Bartz                                                                                           August 28, 2022         Luke 19:1-10                                                                                       “Let’s Talk about Money” There is a great scene in one of the first episodes on Downton Abbey.  The family of the abbey are sitting down with their ‘upper middle-class’ cousins for the first time for a formal dinner.  The cousins are newly arrived […]

Rev. Danielle K Bartz                                                                                           August 21, 2022 Mark 12:28-34                                                                                                               “Dialogue” A friend recently sent me a picture of something she saw online.  It was a mock advertisement for the “University of Facebook School of Biblical Studies.”  It read: “Have you ever wanted to be a biblical scholar, but without the hassle of learning ancient languages or becoming familiar with […]

Rev. Danielle K Bartz                                                                                           August 14, 2022         Romans 8:31-39                                                                                                      “Early Stages” I saw a cartoon the other day that I liked.  It showed two people standing in front of a tree.  Gesturing to the tree, one person said to the other, “This is the first book I am writing, but it is still […]

Rev. Danielle K Bartz                                                                                               July 17, 2022  John 6:14-20                                                                                                       “A Letter Home” When I study Gospel stories, especially miracle stories, my mind tends to first wonder how the people experienced it.  What did they see?  What were they thinking?  How did they reconcile the experience with their idea about the world and God?  And, […]

Rev. Danielle K Bartz                                                                                               July 10, 2022  Romans 5:1-5                                                                                  “Hope Does Not Disappoint” I’ve told you all the story of a woman named Yamileth before, but hers is one that bears repeating.  My interaction with her was brief but it had an impact that will last a lifetime.  I met Yamileth when I was […]