Weekly Outlook - Following Rules, Feeling Hurt

Dear Outlook readers,  My quiet neighbor lives by himself and goes on a walk three times a day. I see him out my window. He only noticed my husband and me when we got a puppy. He stopped and waved at our dog. Huey saw him, too, and stopped, tail wagging as the neighbor crossed the road for the first time.   Now, Huey runs to greet him whenever they cross paths outside. The neighbor rarely addresses me, but he always stops and waits for Huey to squiggle and squirm towards him with delight, before bending down to say hello.   Sometimes the neighbor joins me and Huey, our walk full of long uncomfortable, holy pauses. We often associate ease with holiness. We can look at a blooming magnolia tree or a sunrise — things we have no part in making — and see God's handiwork. But God is also at work in the uncomfortable: in grief, in pain, in awkwardness, in loss, in change.  That's the theme I sense in today's collection of stories. Whether it is Lisle Gwynn Garrity's heartbreakingly beautiful essay about her grandmother, Sarah McCammon's memoir of the Exvangelical plight, G. Jeffrey MacDonald's column on part-time pastors, or even our Maundy Thursday liturgy, I hear God reminding me of God's presence in the murky, awkward waters of life.  In Christ, Rose Schrott Taylor Outlook digital content editor

Order of worship — Maundy Thursday by Carol Holbrook Prickett PC(USA) retirement staying on predicted course by Gregg Brekke The Exvangelical plight: ‘Hurting because we followed the rules’ by William Schult Full-time ministry drains too many clergy and church budgets. Part-time pastors can help. by G. Jeffrey MacDonald In case you missed it... Stewardship Navigator portal celebrates five years of growth and success The Stewardship Navigator, which is free to all Presbyterian congregations, has helped small and large churches with their fundraising. — John C. Williams Being Here: Prayers for Curiosity, Justice, and Love "'Being Here' would be a welcome addition to a small group’s gathering and closing time or stand on its own as the foundation of a daily or weekly prayer service," writes Amy Pagliarella of Pádraig Ó Tuama's latest book. Reading Genesis "Anyone who desires to rediscover the beauty, complexity, humanity, and revelation within the words of Genesis would do well to allow [Marilyn] Robinson to be their guide," writes Darin Nettleton.   Praying Easter would happen again "I’ve never stepped into the mouth of an empty tomb, but I have walked into my grandmother’s one-bedroom apartment three days after she died," writes Lisle Gwynn Garrity. Tech watch: AI in Canva and Mailchimp Dartinia Hull offers quick tips on maximizing your communications with AI. ChatGPT is here. There is no going back. Mentioning AI on college campuses can earn you a monologue on academic integrity, but we can only move forward, writes college chaplain Maggie Alsup. Statement from the Covenant Network of Presbyterians on Ghana The Board of Directors of the Covenant Network of Presbyterians has adopted a statement of concern about impending homophobic legislation in Ghana.