Julia McCray-Goldsmith, Author at LiftUpYourHearts

Eye to Eye

On Thursday I posted a complaint on social media that I was late in preparing my sermon. When I’m preaching I try really hard to be ready before my husband John comes home from San Francisco, because I like to save weekends for him. But this wasn’t that kind of week—everything seemed to take more time … Read the rest

Ignatian Scriptural Contemplation

Choose a Gospel passage to pray. Some ideas—

Luke 1:26-38 (annunciation, perhaps if you are wondering about a call)

Luke 1:39-45 (visitation, perhaps if you are thinking about a friendship)

Luke 2:41-51 (Jesus in the Temple, perhaps if you are thinking about a child)

Luke 4:16-30 (Jesus at the Synagogue in Nazareth, being true to yourself)

Luke 5:1-11 (Jesus calls … Read the rest

Light for the Journey

The Epiphany
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If you’ve been around Trinity for a while, you may already know that my husband John and I served for seven years as missionaries in Central America and the Caribbean when we were newly married. Por eso somos hablahispanos. That’s why we’re both Spanish speakers. What you may not know is that our two sons … Read the rest

Ignatian Scriptural Composition

Choose a Gospel passage to pray—

Luke 1:26-38 (annunciation, perhaps if you are wondering about a call)

Luke 1:39-45 (visitation, perhaps if you are thinking about a friendship)

Luke 2:41-51 (Jesus in the Temple, perhaps if you are thinking about a child)

Luke 4:16-30 (Jesus at the Synagogue in Nazareth, being true to yourself)

Luke 5:1-11 (Jesus calls the first … Read the rest

An Ignatian Examen

One way to pray is to look for God’s presence in the “sacred text” that is your own daily life. More than 400 years ago, St. Ignatius of Loyola encouraged prayer-filled mindfulness through what has come to be called called the Daily Examen. The Examen is a method of prayerful reflection on the events of the day in order to … Read the rest

The Upward Fall

The story says fall, and I fall to my knees

onto streets paved with refuse and waste;

breathing fumes of the fuel that the highway consumes

I fall with a gasp to my knees.

Underneath paved domain slumbers dust from the stars-

of this I am fashioned and made;

but the ground of my standing is holy, corrupt-

I … Read the rest

A Blessing for Knitters

Blessed are you who stitch together
the splits at the seams of this world,
repairing the breach between poor and rich
cold and warm, cast off and cared for.

Blessed are you whose needles respond to need
and whose yarn binds the broken of heart.
May your love be felt in every fold
of fabric that warms the wearers.

Blessed

… Read the rest

Wholehearted Sacrifice

Proper 27
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The stakes were high in Jerusalem: Jesus was within a few days of his betrayal and death, and—as Mark records it, his teaching in the Temple had become very succinct. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your … Read the rest

Of Lament and Blessing

(Sermon for the Liturgy of Lament and Blessing, Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, 10/17/2018)

Hashtag why I didn’t report: some field notes from social media.

“I didn’t report because the first time I was under 5.”

“I didn’t report because I have been raised in a society and culture that makes me responsible for the actions of grown men.”

“I didn’t … Read the rest

The Look of Love

Proper 23B

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Several decades ago, at a time when I was thinking very deeply about God and money, I went to my then Presbyterian pastor and asked her what to do. “What’s the right amount to give to the church?” I wanted to know. Should it be a tithe, a tenth of my income? That seemed like … Read the rest