There's a Woman in the Pulpit

Rev. Martha Spong, a United Church of Christ pastor, is director of RevGalBlogPals, a social media ministry making community for clergywomen across lines of denomination, generation, nation and orientation since 2005. A longtime blogger, she leads workshops on creative approaches to scripture for worship and writes sermon resources and curriculum for the Christian Century, Lectionary Homiletics, the Abingdon Creative Preaching Annual and The Present Word. Rev. Carol Howard Merritt, a Presbyterian (USA) minister, sought-after speaker and Christian Century blogger, is author of the award-winning Tribal Church: Ministering to the Missing Generation and cohost of the God Complex Radio podcast.

Foreword
Rev. Carol Howard Merritt
Introduction


Fierce and Fabulous for Jesus: God's Calling and Our Identity
Swinging
Rev. Ruth Everhart
Couldn't You Wait Until I'm Dead?
Rev. Patricia J. Raube
The Accidental Leader
Rev. Robin Craig
Worn In
Rev. Dr. Teri McDowell Ott
I Sit at My Desk: A Prayer
Rev. Julia Seymour
Finding My Voice
Rev. Hilary Campbell
High Heels in the Pulpit
Rev. Rachel G. Hackenberg
Queer
Rev. Katie Mulligan
Leaving Well
Rev. Amy Fetterman
Balls
Rev. Kathryn Z. Johnston
Come Down and Help, Please
Rev. Sally-Lodge Teel

A Taste of Heaven and a Splash of Glory: Sharing the Sacraments
Drop by Precious Drop
Suzy Garrison Meyer
Of Water and the Body
Rev. Joanna Harader
Torn
Rev. Julie Woods
A Touch on Her Head
Rev. Martha Spong
Through the Eyes of a Child
Rev. Catherine MacDonald
A Prayer at Table
Rev. Karla Miller
By Water and the Word
Rev. Jennifer Burns Lewis
Open Table, No Reservations
Rev. Julia Seymour
God Gives Us Life
Rev. Jemma Allen
Hostessing
Rev. Monica Thompson Smith
Three Sisters
Rev. Bromleigh McCleneghan
The Worst Communion Ever
Rev. Martha Spong

Ashes to Angels: Ministry and Death
The Weight of Ash
Rev. Deborah Lewis
Before the Resurrection
Rev. Joanna Harader
From the Pen of the Hospital Chaplain
Rev. Liz Crumlish
The Moses Basket
Rev. Elizabeth Evans Hagan
Old Man’s Hand
Rev. Martha Spong
One Saving Grace
Rev. Anna Scherer
A Million Little Deaths: A Prayer
Rev. Karla Miller
Life Disrupted
Rev. Deb Vaughn
Of Facebook and Angels
Rev. Julia Seymour

They Don’t Teach That in Seminary: What We Learned Through Experience
The Pastor’s View
Rev. Diane M. Roth
What They Will Remember
Rev. Jan Edmiston
Locks, Doors, a Walk-in Safe, and the Keys to the Kingdom
Rev. Jennifer Garrison Brownell
The Good Samaritan Test
Rev. Sharon M. Temple
Only Four Letters
Gillian Hoyer
A Prayer for the Plunger
Rev. Rachel G. Hackenberg
The Eruption of Story
Rev. Kerri Parker
Blessed Bedbugs
Rev. Rosalind C. Hughes
Possessive Voice
Rev. Cheryl Harader
To Laugh at Myself
Rev. Liz Crumlish
Don’t Call Me "Reverend"
Rev. Denise Anderson
I’m Here Because God Cares
Rev. Erin Counihan

It’s Complicated: Being Pastor/Partner/Parent/Person
Always the Pastor, Never the Bride
Rev. Michelle L. Torigian
Preaching Ahead of Yourself
Rev. Robin Craig
How Does That Work?
Rev. Beth Birkholz
I Rise Before the Sun
Rev. Stacey Simpson Duke
Out Standing in Her Field: A Pastoral (De)Composition
Rev. Holly S. Morrison
Why Is My Pillow Hot? A Prayer
Rev. Julia Seymour
A Vegetarian in the Church
Rev. Teri Peterson
Uncloseted
Rev. Patricia J. Raube
I Pray with My Eyes Open
Rev. Mindi Welton-Mitchell
The Parson
Rev. Katherine Willis Pershey
Our Pheeto
Rev. Martha Spong

Outside Over There: Moving in the World Beyond Our Churches
What Are You Looking For?
Rev. Sarah E. Howe Miller, PhD
Soccer and Starbucks
Rev. Rachel G. Hackenberg
The Body of Christ Shimmies
Rev. Marci Auld Glass
At the Barn
Rev. Laurie Brock
No Masks
Rev. Martha Daniels
Out of the Pool
Rev. Katya Ouchakof
Saint Paul versus Danielle Steele
Rev. Amber Belldene
I Am Grateful: A Prayer
Rev. Karla Miller
Learning in the Shipyard
Rev. Liz Crumlish
Who I Am Is Not What I Did
Rev. Julie Craig
The Priest I Want to Be
Rev. Sara Irwin
For Some Reason
Rev. Stephanie Anthony
Running with Patience
Rev. Julia Seymour

Acknowledgments