Gina N. Brown

To view the encouragement and critic by Dr. Anna Carter-Florence, Peter Marshall Professor of Preaching, Columbia Theological Seminary click here.

Click Here for Gina's Good Friday Sermon: Creation's Response Click Here for the Good Friday Group Service Click Here for the Good Friday Group Service Professor's Feedback Professors Response: Gina, thank you for this beautiful piece, and your reading of it (which was extraordinary). I've been struck, during these Easter Cycle services, by how difficult it is--and how critical it is!--for the homilies to relate to one another, work with one another, complement one another. They can't all be the same, or in the same tone. Yet they need to have some commonality of structure and purpose. Your group did such a good job of that: each of you took a portion of the passion story and spoke directly to it, closing with that haunting liturgical refrain (which on Good Friday, holds special significance): "Oh Lord, have mercy on us." We heard those words in a completely new way because of the care your group took to fashion these homilies and place them next ...

P635 Easter Cycle Worship Response from ACF Good Friday Group (Oct 3, 2019) Ófe Abreu Rosario, Gina Brown, Jin Kyung Ko, Macy Ruple, Natalie Wolf In my comments, I’m borrowing from the language and ideas of our course readings, thinking about how these Easter Cycle services might follow the “Isaian Pattern” of worship, or create a “Third Space” for us to reflect on the Christian Year—and the intersections of our lives. n   Following the “Isaian Pattern” of Worship (Lathrop)             Ancient texts are made, in assembly, to say a new thing; Borrowing the old (texts, symbols, images) to speak of the new;             Using old structures to speak a new grace (through juxtaposition and metaphor);             Critiquing and plumbing, deconstructing and reconstructing. n   Creating a “Th...

Wonder Wow this journal assignment brings back memories of some amazing experiences. 1. An experience of wonder that you had outside of ministry, whether as a child or more recently. My earliest personal memory of God was as a little child at prayer time.  Prayer time for me was like the opening of wonderland. I would say my prayers then climb into bed, yet it was if I was let out to play.  Saying my prayers, at night, initiated play time for me and Jesus/God.  The specifics are not clear, but the overarching feeling was comfort, value, belonging and acceptance.  The way God looked at me and indulged me I knew I was loved and prized. God and I played long, we played hard.  We would run and jump, play in the dirt, play marbles roll down grassy hills and pick wild flowers yet I was in bed.  Play time with God was amazing. This experience with God is dear and precious to me and shared hardly ever. Many years later when I encountered that sense a...

Instructions From the Syllabus: “At the Intersection of Time and Eternity” Practice. Reflect on the themes of the Church Year by connecting them to your own life and experience. As we discuss each liturgical season in turn (Easter, Christmas, Ordinary Time), find an artistic element—an image, a photograph, a song, a poem, a painting, a piece of music or sculpture—that sheds light on that season for you, at this moment. In other words, begin with your own experience of intersection between God’s time and your time. Then write a brief prayer such as you might use (along with the artistic element itself) in a service of worship at CTS, to invite worshipers deeper into the season and their own lives’ intersections. Submit both prayer and photo/recording of your artistic element on Moodle. Do three submissions total, one for each season.   A note: Is designed to help you develop your seeing and describing muscles—this time, at the intersection of human experience a...

No one loves change.  Even when we are looking forward to the fruits of change the process of changing can be daunting.  Change requires a departure from our comfort zone.   The process can be foreign, confusing and if engaged long enough it can leave us feeling lost in the process and unsure if the upheaval was even necessary.  Over time I have developed a personal strategy to help me navigate change.  It has worked well and I began to see other areas in life in which it could be utilized; such as getting married, having a baby, moving, projects at work and ministry.  Just about anything that may be an overwhelming task or a task with multiple components that requires clear and concise thought and direction would be an excellent candidate for this strategy. The strategy is called Prayer Mapping. Prayer Mapping by definition can be considered a system which combines prayer, documenting and organization tools to process anything from a concept ...