Home & Blog | Lynne Baab

Praying about the flow of time: An unusual option for Lent

Lynne Baab • Tuesday March 11 2025

I’m listening carefully to someone I find a bit challenging. As I try to listen well, I’m bringing to mind various listening skills I’ve learned over the years. The person describes something from their life that I find both interesting and confusing. I try to pick up something from their description that I can follow up on. I decide to ask an open-ended question that will enable them to go in whatever direction they choose. They continue to talk, and I try to give them eye contact. I use those small sounds that help people know we’re listening: “hmm,” “yeah,” and...

Read full article »

Praying about the flow of time: Ash Wednesday

Lynne Baab • Tuesday March 4 2025

As a child, I enjoyed the tactile nature of the Ash Wednesday service: walking up the aisle to the front of the church, hearing the words “remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return,” feeling the minister’s hand marking a cross with ashes on my forehead, and then seeing the ash mark on my forehead the next time I looked in a mirror. In my elementary school years, my family often went to an Ash Wednesday service in the early morning. I proudly wore the ashes on my forehead to school that day. Looking back, I am truly...

Read full article »

Praying about the flow of time: Preparing for a creative Lent

Lynne Baab • Tuesday February 25 2025

Lent begins next week on March 5. This year for Lent, I’m going to do something I haven’t done for about ten years. I normally wear gold earrings and colorful necklaces. For Lent, I’m going to wear only silver earrings, plus my silver cross necklace that I hardly ever wear. When I’ve done this in the past — maybe for six or eight Lents between 1990 and 2010 — the dullness of the silver (compared with gold) and the absence of color speaks to me of the sorrow of walking with Jesus to the cross. And of course the cross speaks...

Read full article »

Praying about the flow of time: World Day of Social Justice

Lynne Baab • Wednesday February 19 2025

I wonder what comes to mind when you think of the terms “justice” and “social justice.” Are they the same? Similar? Is justice an umbrella term with social justice only one type of justice?

February 20 is World Day of Social Justice, established in 2007 by the United Nations. On the UN page about the day, the header says, “Strengthening a Just Transition for a Sustainable Future.” Some of the themes mentioned on that page include caring for the most vulnerable, fighting poverty, reducing inequality, and opening up opportunities for all. This requires “a holistic approach that weaves environmental sustainability with social...

Read full article »

<< Newer | Older >>