Ruth Everhart's Blog, page 12
April 5, 2018
An Analysis of “Ruined”
written by Tammy Wiens for UKirk (young adult resources)
I just discovered this very thorough review and analysis of my memoir “Ruined” written by Tammy Wiens for UKirk. It’s geared to young adults but I think it would be helpful for any book group.
There’s also a free Discussion Guide which Tyndale House put together. Click “Show More” under “Related Sites & Resources” to find it. Remember that I’m happy to FaceTime with your group after you read the book. I love meeting readers. Writers don’t exist without readers, so you make my world go ’round!
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April 3, 2018
“Finding Jesus”
An Easter Sermon from a Sister Pilgrim
I haven’t said much about my pilgrimage yet. I was quite sick when I got home and am just now feeling back to normal.
One of my sister pilgrims was Rev. Heather Jepsen (First Presbyterian Church in Warrensburg, Missouri). On Easter, Heather’s sermon included a story from the day we visited the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Like all good pilgrims, Heather was looking for Jesus.
I enjoyed reading about her experience, and the deft way she wove her sermon together. Heather published her sermon on her blog and said I could share it with all of you. I invite you to click over and enjoy!
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March 9, 2018
Pilgrimage to Israel/Palestine 2018
Tel Megiddo
Dear Friends — I am once again on pilgrimage to Israel & Palestine, what a privilege!
Our group of 29 pilgrims flew into TelAviv (from all over the country) on Monday, arriving Tuesday. Late in the evening we took our bus to Ibillin, a small town in the Galilee region. On Day One we saw: Tel Megiddo, Caesarea Maritima, Mt. Carmel, Haifa, Bahai Gardens, Acre/Akko.
I’m in the lobby of the Golden Crown Hotel in Nazareth, using the WiFi (which doesn’t work in my room) and wanted to post a few pictures. I intend to do more of a write up, but I don’t have my notes. I would get them from my room but it’s Shabbat and the elevators automatically stop at every floor, so I’ve been taking the emergency stairs which is a little creepy, as I’ve discovered where the hotel puts the unused mattresses and stuffed chairs — but that is maybe a different sort of pilgrimage story than the one you expected to read!
Tel Megiddo is an archeological site at the top of a mountain overlooking the Valley of Armageddon.
Tel Megiddo
Tel Megiddo
Tel Megiddo, descending into the water system
Tel Megiddo, a tunnel through the water system
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February 1, 2018
When #MeToo Becomes #ChurchToo
Wenn aus #MeToo #ChurchToo Wird
I wrote an article for The Arc (Tyndale’s blog). It’s called When #MeToo Becomes #ChurchToo.
A publisher in Germany asked permission to translate and publish the article online at Die Eule (The Owl). I’m happy to hear that faith communities in Germany — and across Europe — are following #MeToo so closely! Wenn aus #MeToo #ChurchToo Wird.
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Sexual Harassment in the Workplace
my story featured at Everyday Health
After A Pastor’s MeToo Story ran at Christian Century, I was contacted by an author named Diane Herbst, who was writing a feature for Everyday Health, about the health impact of sexual harassment. You can read the article here.
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January 6, 2018
The Museum of the Bible
a wonderful teaching tool, or bellwether of catastrophe?
The Museum of the Bible opened in Washington, DC last November. The owner is Steve Green, who also owns Hobby Lobby. Green is a conservative Evangelical who is anti-gay and anti-choice. He appears to seek political influence and to court the press. Some of the recent press was negative because he acquired artifacts from Iraq illegally, for which he was fined.
Because of all these reasons, I wasn’t in a hurry to visit the museum. But a couple of my congregants went and were enthusiastic about their experience. I knew that as their pastor it was important for me to go. Also, I am preparing to return to Israel/Palestine in March (my first visit since I wrote Chasing the Divine in the Holy Land) and I was curious to see how the exhibits treated the land and political situation.
When cold weather closed school for a day, my husband (who’s a teacher) and I decided to draw on our steely Minnesota backbone and venture downtown. We used the website to print free timed tickets (there’s a suggested donation of $15), and parked in the garage on the same block ($20 for the day, Saturday is $10).
The museum is big on drama, in terms of scale, lighting, and sound effects. There is heavy use of films featuring Dave Stotts. Other exhibits are actually immersive.
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January 4, 2018
Why I Quit Drinking
thoughts on abstention & deprivation
Drinking has changed. In the late 1970s when I was in college, my friends and I drank cheap beer which we bought by the pitcher and shared. We rarely drank wine, other than an occasional bottle of sangria, which we repurposed as a candleholder when it was empty. Wine was for rich, old people who knew French. We ourselves would never be rich, or old, or pretentious.
These dynamics have reversed. Cheap, shared beer has given way to a world of microbrews which require a specialized vocabulary. Wine has gone the other direction, descending from the world of mystique into the clang and jostle of shopping carts.
Not only has drinking changed, but my drinking has changed. Wine was once a treat to accompany a special meal, maybe monthly. But as the price went down and availability went up, it became easier to pick up a bottle. And isn’t every weekend special?
Weekend drinking bled into weekday drinking, innocuously enough. Pastors live by an odd rhythm. Saturday night is a work night and the “weekend” — to the extent we have such a thing — begins on Sunday night. I resolved the mismatch by having a glass of wine both nights, Saturday evening to be social and Sunday evening to reward myself. Don’t look at me askance. Ministry is hard work, my friends, and there are plenty of scriptures about enjoying wine!
As my husband and I became older — and if not rich, at least no longer impoverished — we added mixed drinks to our repertoire. Martinis, to be exact. Let’s blame it on Mad Men. Martinis look so elegant in their shapely glasses. Plus I adore olives. The sound of the shaker became the cue that the day’s cares would soon be dissolving.
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January 1, 2018
“God Set the North Star in the Heavens”
Blackwater NWR & Harriet Tubman Underground Railway
Last weekend we took an overnight trip to Cambridge, Maryland on the Eastern Shore — to view the wintering waterfowl at Blackwater NWR and take in the new Harriet Tubman Underground Railway site.
I’ll admit that the “Eastern Shore” of Maryland confuses me geographically. I understand it’s named for the short stretch of Atlantic shoreline that’s sandwiched between Delaware and Virginia, but the part of the Eastern Shore we tend to explore — because it’s closer to the metro area — wraps around the Chesapeake Bay, with both eastern and western shores.
I suppose you need to know where you’re standing in order to know which direction you’re headed — which seems like an appropriate thought for the New Year! Figuring out which way you’re heading can be harder than following the points of a compass. No wonder I appreciated Harriet Tubman’s words about the North Star (we’ll get to her in a moment below).
Oh baby, it’s cold! Behind us is a salt marsh with lots of muskrat lodges, and behind that is open water — the Blackwater River spreads like the Everglades, rather than flows like a river with banks.
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December 19, 2017
How Will Your Church Fight Sexual Assault in 2018?
18 Ways for 2018
The January issue of Christian Century includes two articles I wrote. The cover story is my #MeToo #ChurchToo story about abuse at the hands of my senior pastor. Of course I want you to read that one!
But don’t miss the other article, which is a list:
18 ways that churches can fight sexual assault in 2018.
What would you add?
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December 4, 2017
“A Pastor’s #MeToo Story” at Christian Century
#ChurchToo
I’m happy — and rather nervous — to say that my article is on the cover of the Christian Century (January 2018). It’s a deeply personal story that I have not told before: A Pastor’s #MeToo Story
I also wrote an accompanying list: 18 Ways Churches Can Fight Sexual Assault in 2018.
As always, I look forward to your feedback. #ChurchToo
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