You are very welcome

Mata H — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 20:54:15 -0500

Shawna -- I share the same memberships with you :-)
It is a great group of folks!!

~~ Contributing Editor, Mata H. also blogs relentlessly at Time's Fool

Thank you

Shawna R B Atteberry — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 16:36:04 -0500

I'm a RevGal member as well as BlogHer. Thank you for the mention and glowing reviews!

Shawna R. B. Atteberry
Link Text

Religious blogs...

When I Was a Boy — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 17:22:08 -0500

I read a number of em, but I especially enjoy Mad Priest's spot (Of Course, I Could Be Wrong...). He's smartmouthed and funny, irreverent and relevant.

Thank you...

AngloBaptist — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 10:21:43 -0500

Thanks for this article. As a member of the Ring, I think you did a fine job expressing the nature of the community. And I would like to let you know that there are male members of the community as well. Huzzah!

-Tripp Hudgins

www.anglobaptist.org/blog

The BlogRing Cycle: Part III : Christian blogs that may surprise

Mata H — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 12:40:08 -0500

What do the following have in common? A lesbian grandmother. A woman with a new large tattoo. The owner of a cat named "Fish". A resident of an area still devastated by Katrina. A grieving daughter, a de-cluttering woman and a shopper at Payless shoes? They are all women, all ministers or nuns or in lay ministry. And they are all part of the BlogRing RevGalBlogPals. They are a rare gathered glimpse "beneath the clerical collar" to the everyday lives of women with religious vocations.

RevGalBlogPals describes their ring this way.

An open table for women clergy, women church professionals and women in religious life, and their blogging friends, to support one another in pursuing and discerning our vocations.

My guess is that many of you would be surprised to find out how much you have in common with these women, even if you do not share their spiritual vocations. I hope you click through and read a few samples of the fine blogs referenced below.

St. Casserole has been an ordained Presbyterian minister for 29 years, and has a family complete with a cat named "Fish". Her congregation was in a hard-hit Gulf area, and still has not recovered from Katrina.

Cheesehead in Paradise cracks me up. She is a self-described "middle aged minister mom" who will zestily describe why she hates Vacation Bible School (no extra budget for it and no help doing it), or will describe an interaction with her duaghter and her daughter's boyfriend (Wondergirl and BoyWonder) in the car that had me grinning out loud.

"We began to have the glass=half full/glass=half empty conversation. The following ensued:
BoyWonder: "An engineer looks at the glass and says, 'The glass is twice as big as it needs to be.'"
Cheesehead: "The minister looks at a glass with water and in it and says, 'I've got water, who's thirsty?'"
BoyWonder: (to Wondergirl) "I don't get it."
Wondergirl: (to BoyWonder) "Don't. Please don't ask. I'm begging you. Don't. She'll start in. It'll be Jesus-this and Jesus-that the rest of the day."

Cheesehead: Humiliating teenagers since 1999. That's me.

Inner Dorothy is a pastor in the United Church of Canada. In this post she describes getting her second tattoo, a cross and a rainbow on her back (pictures included). She explains:

Why a cross and a rainbow? Well, the cross is of course the primary symbol of the Christian faith. While I struggle with the ancient sacrificial and substitutionary atonement theologies that often get tangled up with the image of the cross, at the end of the day, the empty cross still connects to me on a visceral (and today, literally, visceral) level as the sign that says, "Jesus."The rainbow reflects my bloggy alter-ego, InnerDorothy.... *starts humming Somewhere Over the Rainbow.... and also reflects my belief that God's love is inclusive in every way. Together, the cross and the rainbow say "God's radical love is for all of us. No exceptions. No fine print. All of us." Finally, as a theological symbol of hope, the rainbow really speaks volumes."

LutheranChik's "L" Word Diary is written by a Lutheran laywoman who is in training for lay ministry. I first began reading her commentaries on Beliefnet, and followed her to blogland. Witty and brilliant, she is not above the well aimed snark, but has a heart that stretches straight to heaven and back again. She is an ELCA Lutheran, preparing for lay ministry as a lesbian, in a church that has yet to affirm GLBT clergy -- so she takes heat from all sides, which can be heartbreaking to read, because she is just the kind of gal you wish the best for.

Reverend Mommy, a Methodist minister, speaks of the Theology of Space as she works to declutter body/mind and spirit.

Cats, a Lutheran minister in Massachusetts, describes a moment of grace where she found profound understanding in a shoe store.

The Sister Bloggers are another webribng that attached to RevGalBlogPals, and consists of many entries and blogs by women nuns in the Catholic and Episcopalian traditions.

Sister Christer a Roman Catholic nun speaks candidly of the ongoing healing and grieving process for her dear mother.

"...Most of my energy for the past couple of years has been focused on one task - taking care of Mom. So without that focus, I've been a bit scattered (oh, who am I kidding? - I've been totally scattered, ship-wrecked, broken-hearted and wounded beyond my own expectations and perceived tolerance.) In the midst of packing up her life; packing and moving my own life, working and trying to make decisions, I've been exhausted.

I love the community among these women of faith who somehow manage to rise above any theological divisions to just care about each other's lives. And that is, as far as I am concerned, just how it should be.

There are a jillion Christian blog rings, one for every denomination, progressive rings, conservative rings, orthodox rings, sermon rings -- but the RevGalBlogPals ring is certainly among the most engaging and inclusive.

Are there spiritual blogs that you read frequently? Which ones? Please share them here.

BlogHer - The BlogRing Cycle: Part III : Christian blogs that may surprise - Comments

You are very welcome

Thank you

Religious blogs...

Thank you...

The BlogRing Cycle: Part III : Christian blogs that may surprise