God of courageBe with thoseWho are sharing their truthSurround them with affirmationsThe love of friends and familyRemind the family who are uncertainThat we do not need to understandIn order to loveRemind us allThat self knowledgeIs its own form of graceIts own divine giftAnd hard-wonGrant us the imaginationTo see those who have come outAs happyTo share…
A blessing for all of the queer folks
This is a blessingTo remind youWith strength and gentlenessThat your body is a templeWhole and beautifulWorthy and unique.You need no special documentationTo inhabit itOr possess itBecause it is entirely yoursSanctified by a GodWho knows your pronounsWhose gender is reflected in youWho loves the people you love.This God sees your temple bodyAs sacred and holy.Misunderstanding men…
Blessings, Prayers, and Poems at the Exponent
In the last handful of years or so, I’ve written a lot of blessings and prayers. Some of these have proved to be useful beyond the initial giving and I want to share them all here. The links below are to prayers and blessings that I have posted on The Exponent Blog. I plan to…
Old God, New God
Writing about the ways in which my understanding of God has changed feels incredibly personal and vulnerable. I’m still not entirely sure why this is, but it feels like there are few things about this change that I’m able to share easily in public. So I share this will the full realization that some people…
Blessing for letting go
Blessing for letting goBy Nancy Ross This blessing reminds youThat sometimes what we must removeIs not as simple as decluttering the kitchenIt is not as simple as pulling unused coatsOut of the closetSometimes we must get out the shovelStart digging in the backyardUntil we find that buried boxOf ghosts and bodiesWe don’t know how to…
A blessing for those in need of a blessing
I posted the text of this blessing over at the Exponent Blog last month. I prefaced the blessing with the following text: Prior to the pandemic, I asked the folks in the Exponent community what situations they would like to have addressed in a blessing and was overwhelmed by the response. I offer this blessing-of-many-needs…
Framing Noah’s Ark with the Pandemic
My mission center (kind of like a Mormon stake, but geographically much bigger) is now doing church services online every week. I was asked to do the children’s moment for this coming Sunday with the scripture beginning John 20:19, where the resurrected Jesus appears to the disciples and asks them to believe and “Believe” is…
Pandemic Easter Lament
I was looking for an Easter prayer to fit my mood and could not find one, so I wrote this. Dear God,The cost of Lent was too high this yearWe wandered in a wilderness we were not prepared forLost people we were not prepared to loseExperienced new kinds of griefAnd we are not yet out…
A Sermon on King Benjamin’s Speech (Book of Mormon)
This sermon was given via video conference to the Centre Place Community of Christ congregation in Toronto, Canada on February 16, 2020. This last week, my husband and I have been watching the TV show Good Omens. I don’t know if you are familiar with that but It is about an angel and a demon…
Breath Prayer/Meditation for those experiencing a faith transition
This video was the final project for one of my seminary classes. I just presented it and some of my classmates asked about the photos and the video and how they related to the prayer. I talked about the ways in which faith transitions change relationships and complicate memories of baptisms, weddings, and other religious…
The Contemplative Heretic 