Welcome!

Hey there! My name is Corinne Freedman Ellis. I’m a Rev. as of September 2014 and a parent as of August 2018. I don’t pretend to be an expert at either one, but I enjoy both very much! I serve as Minister of Congregational Life at Macalester Plymouth United Church in St. Paul, MN. My ministry involves creative worship planning, organizing for justice, walking with people through the ups and downs of life, and working with our junior high and high schoolers. I love it so much and feel really, really fortunate to get to do all of this and more as my job! On the home front, Greg is my spouse and co-parent extraordinaire, and in addition to Phoebe the toddler, we parent Vinnie the elderly Italian Greyhound.

With a busy toddler and a fulfilling call, why am I blogging about parenting and the lectionary?

• Because reading the Bible is all about interpretation, and our lived experience is part of that interpretation.
• Because my lived experience is SO heavy on parenting right now, so when I read scripture, I automatically use that lens.
• Because while I have a pulpit, I am sensitive to the fact that my ministry is with people of all ages and stages, and parenting isn’t the only (or primary) topic I should be talking about in that context.
• Because I think I’m a better pastor when I’m reading scripture regularly, and I think I’m a better parent when I’m reflecting on my experiences.
• Because I am hungry for progressive Christian parenting community, and I hope this might spark some connection!

You may be wondering, what is the lectionary? Many Christian denominations, including Catholics, Episcopalians, Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians, UCC-ers, and others, use the Revised Common Lectionary to choose what scripture passages we read together in worship. The readings come in a 3-year rotation and don’t include everything from scripture, but they offer a wide range. Each week, the lectionary offers 4 readings: Hebrew Bible, Psalm, Gospel, and Epistle. I choose one to reflect on each week. The compilers of the Revised Common Lectionary were very thoughtful about the way the four readings relate to one another and how they fit into the broader church calendar. I aspire to one day reflect on all four, but one feels like plenty for now! This is a great resource to learn more about the Revised Common Lectionary and other cycles of readings.

From the parenting side of things, I don’t full-on subscribe to any single philosophy because I believe every kid teaches us how they need to be parented. That said, I love the framework of respectful parenting and find the resources of RIE Parenting to be especially helpful. Janet Lansbury’s Unruffled Podcast is awesome too. As with any challenging endeavor, I believe parenting happens best in community. Minnesota’s Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE) program has been invaluable for us!