Inspirations Blog
A multimedia collection of stories, learnings, reflections, and resources from the people and ministries of Juniper Formation.
Courageous Love
In order to love like God loves and as children of the one who “sits on David’s throne,” I believe that we were made to be courageous. We were made to be the ones that “seek justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God”(Micah 6:8). This can only be achieved by looking at all things through the lens of love and modeling our life after Christ.
Support Prophetic, Transformative Ministry
I have cried so much this year. How about you? Not all my tears have been of frustration and grief. Some tears bear joyful witness to the movement of the Holy Spirit. Most recently, tears rolled down my cheek during our last monthly Leadership Team meeting as staff and leadership team members offered end-of-year blessings…
Joy & Faith: We're becoming a church!
This week’s Advent reflection is offered by Rev. Morgan Fletcher, Juniper Formation’s Leadership Team Chair. She reflects on the joy and faith of becoming a church.
Beholding Peace
Behold what’s written in the dirt,
The word out on the streets
The quiet, and the other, and the
Tattered mystery.
Strange and holy angels spreading Heaven with their feet
Behold these signs of [hope/peace/joy/love],
Don’t be afraid,
Behold; take heed.
Revealing Hope
Hope is a direction. It is the moment we see what is possible and what is probable. It is equal parts imagination, adventure, and determination. It is seeing a great light, but also following it.
Join Us for Advent
As the skies darken we might imagine ourselves in the growing space of the Creator’s womb, journeying alongside the birth of Jesus. Growing and preparing ourselves, with hope, faith and joy, love, and justice and peace.
There is so much that is possible if we are willing to listen for and follow the Holy Spirit in our lives, even during a holiday season that seems less festive, more isolating, and filled with more grieving than years past.
We're Trying to Have a Baby
We are trying to have a baby, and I need your help to protect my rights, my health, and my life. I invite you to vote “No” on Colorado Proposition 115, the 22-Week Abortion Ban Initiative, and on any other abortion bans across the country.
What can you say in church?
Whether ordained clergy, ordinands, or lay leaders, the priesthood of all believers is called to preach and teach the Gospel. To do this, we must relate the Gospel to our lived experiences, including the political and legislative issues that impact our individual and communal life, and the character and behaviors of public leaders that influence…
Jesus was capital "P" Political
The most Political aspect of Jesus' life and ministry is that people followed him in large numbers. The development of a powerful discipleship threatened the status quo.
Developing Sustainable and Relational Antiracism Practices (Part 1)
Let us not forget that we belong to one another, and “rekindle the gift of God that is within you…for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and love and of self discipline. (2 Timothy 1:6-7). After the murder of George Floyd…
Sunday Supremacy: The Devil is in the Details
Don't be afraid to ask for what you need—or even what you want.But when what you think you need and want come at the cost of others' lives, you are no longer acting in faith.
This is the evil of supremacy, lurking inside, convincing you that you are more important, worthy, and powerful than another child of God.
Prophetic prayer in the time of COVID-19
"I was invited by Rev. Del Phillips to offer a prayer today as one of 13 clergy from Denver to launch Pray Act Trust—30 days of noontime prayer and action in response to COVID-19. One of the people who offered a public prayer on the call today specifically named homosexuality and abortion as sins for which we need forgiveness...These words and this theology are violent, and they do not reflect a loving God who made us in God’s own image. There is no place for such hate and violence in our shared prayer life."
The Power of Naming Spiritual Gifts In One Another
"Understanding our spiritual gifts is about knowing and experiencing ourselves as sacred. We are active participants in relationship to our God who works with, through, and among us. It is a relationship of integration, not reprobation. We are insiders, not outsiders to the Holy Spirit. Spiritual gifts matter, because they are how we relate to God through one another."
Collared: Embracing Resistance
My choice to wear a collar for Lent is a counter-cultural, intentional spiritual practice for my formation as a minister in the Wider Church and World. Particularly as I am not pastor to one congregation, but in ministry with multiple, changing congregations and communities. As a result, my ministerial identity and role is adaptive—constantly modulating to different contexts. This means that I can more easily blend in to my everyday surroundings, almost like a comical progressive clergy “super power,” that is actually not so super if you want to be missional.
What Does the Holy Spirit Feel Like?
...These are not textbook definitions of how the scripture or theologians describe the Holy Spirit, although they rightly could be. These are the real life experiences of the Holy Spirit from everyday Christians. The Creator’s Truth abiding in each one of them. This is the Holy Spirit alive in the progressive Church...
Confessional Relationship Blessed with Ash and Oil
...Christ invites us to journey through the ash together—not retain our sin or remain in our grief. This process of moving through the ash requires our small faith to grow larger, demands that we know and accept ourselves as sacred, and expects us to use our gifts and talents to be healers within our relationships to one another, and especially with the stranger...