Welcome to Grace Notes! You can find an archive of my preaching and writing here. I welcome your comments and questions, as I always enjoy conversations about faith.Grace notes are actually tiny notations in classical music that indicate a quick note decorating the melody. Grace notes always lead to the main thing. In my spiritual walk, the main thing is the grace of God in Jesus. This grace is God’s unequivocal gift of acceptance and love for you and me. That’s what fuels me, and that’s what I write about.
I look forward to sharing with you and hearing from you in this blog – and I hope you find the words and ideas here to truly be Grace Notes, filled with God’s grace. – PJ
Pastor Julie is a student of yoga and a lover of singing, a low maintenance housekeeper and a potluck foodie, a wife and proud mother of two young adults, and a passionate voice for connecting faith, daily life, and scripture. Born and raised in Columbus, she studied religion and music at Oberlin College and Conservatory, and received her MDiv from Yale Divinity School. Pastor Julie served four parishes in Connecticut before returning to her Ohio roots to become Epiphany’s senior pastor.
26
Feb '23
DIY Faith
26
Feb '23
Matthew 4:1-11
Deborah was a bright young woman, 20 years old. We were part of a Christian dinner and discussion group at college. One night we were talking about the growth of the church in third world countries. We commented on how people in poorer countries who live hand to mouth seem to exercise their faith much more than we did in our comfortable middle class American lives. We spoke of how we only seem to need God in a crisis, and how in good times we often forget about God.
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23
Oct '22
Society of Modern Tax Collectors and Pharisees
23
Oct '22
Luke 18:9-14
In her memoir Breathing Space, Pastor Heidi Neumark tells of giving out ashes on the street outside her church in the South Bronx on Ash Wednesday. It was long before ashes-to-go were a thing – it was almost a necessity. You see, that neighborhood was one of the most hard-scrabble and forgotten places in NYC.
Pastor Heidi knew the people of the neighborhood. She often
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11
Sep '22
The Joy in Finding
11
Sep '22
Luke 15
My mother-in-law, Mary, is a great finder of lost things. One time when my son Joel was 18 months old, she came to visit for three weeks, and before the time was out, she located the play walkie talkie from the ride on truck- in the bushes the stuffed animal joey that went with the mama kangaroo – behind a bureau and my favorite: 6 drink coasters, in the pedals of the pump organ.
All these things had been lost for months;
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04
Sep '22
Jesus’ Unexpected Family Values
04
Sep '22
Luke 14:25-33
In my early ministry, my colleague and I co-led premarital classes each year. Our classes always began with a skit about some common marital challenge. I wrote one called, The Holiday Question, which featured a couple who had recently married and did not choose to attend the family holiday celebrations.
Every year, this skit was controversial.
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22
Aug '22
Six Days a Week
22
Aug '22
Luke 13:10-17
In my first church, I started a Taize service along with a couple of musicians. We took over the prayer chapel, and covered the altar with candles of various sizes. Each Monday evening we joined with a dozen other parishioners to sing contemplative songs and petitions written by the ecumenical community in Taize, France. It was moving and prayerful, and though the number of participants was not great, it was an oasis of peace for those who attended.
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18
Jul '22
Mary Moment
18
Jul '22
Luke 10:38-42
Have you ever had a Mary Moment? I have.
It happened one Sunday morning as I pulled up to church. It had been a challenging Sunday to make it there – The church was an hour commute from my home, and I had to get the kids out of the house and off to church with my husband before leaving. I was teaching adult education before worship, so I had to be there an hour early. I’d left dishes in the sink, and I was pretty sure the bed would still be unmade when I got home.
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26
Jun '22
All In
26
Jun '22
I Kings 15-16, 19-21;
Luke 9:51-62
I first met Ren at a summer music program. We were both playing in the orchestra, me on the French horn, and Ren on the flute. Ren was serious about music; all he wanted to do was apply to music school, get a degree, and play. His father, however, was serious about Ren being a success. He was a chemist, an immigrant who had worked hard to make it in a new land. He thought Ren should become a pharmacist.
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19
Jun '22
One in Christ
19
Jun '22
Galatians 3:23-29
When I was in high school, I went on a study trip to Washington, D.C. It was a year-round program that brought together kids from around the country for a week to learn about civics, politics and American history.
As soon as we arrived, we kids began the social size up:
- Who were the jocks and cheerleaders?
- Who were the nerds?
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12
Jun '22
Three-Person Partnership
12
Jun '22
Trinity Sunday
In my college dorm, there were three types of rooms: singles, doubles where you shared with a roommate, and quads, where four people shared two bedrooms with a common room between.
Because the campus had some historic old buildings, there were also odd-sized rooms in which they housed three students at a time. These ‘triples’ as they were called, were great from an architectural standpoint —
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