Monday Meet n' Greet: Deck the Halls Edition

Merry Almost Solstice, Gals and Pals!

We're happy to be welcoming new members at this festive season of the year. Be sure to deck their halls by paying a visit to their blogs and leaving a comment.

First, please meet Kara Root, who blogs at in the hereandnow and describes herself as "An atypical Presbyterian minister, mom of two clever kids and two unruly dogs, and wife and proofreader of a wily theologian."

Next, say hi to Julie, now blogging at The Rev and the Boys: "still in love with my hubby of 9 years, proud mama of 2 amazing boys, reverend (sometimes), knitter (when I can), yogi (aspiring), laughing girl, follower of Christ and admirer of all things Wild, lover of poetry and music and dancing, obsessed coffee drinker, activist at heart, midwesterner at heart, living it out in NY and laughing at myself as much as possible…"

Longtime ring member Muthah+  recently moved to Texas and invites us to visit her blog Stone of Witness, where she is writing about the church and the world. If you don't know her already, she describes herself this way:  "I am an unabashedly liberal Episcopal priest from a time when being a liberal was a "good" thing. If I am knee-jerk about anything it is about seeing that justice is done by those of us who call ourselves Christians or who are about serving Christ in the Church."

Those of us who had the pleasure of meeting Muthah+ at BE 3.0 know how delightfully straightforward she is. Go say hey!

Now let's welcome Pastor Kathy, who brings her new blog to the ring, New Life in the North Country, but I would also like to give a nod to her blog, The Daily Cattown News, which chronicled her life in the five years after Hurricane Katrina. Kathy is all these things: "Ordained Presbyterian minister, newly married, writer, former business journalist, native New Orleanian who can speak fluent Yat but refrains most of the time, cat person, horse person, fan of TV shows that have been off the air for years."

I know you will want to read Inscription, the blog of Hassopheret,

"An educated black woman, priest, pastor, preacher, technician of the sacred, sacramentalist, scholar, teacher, writer, thinker, believer, dreamer."

Her recent posts have been deeply moving, in particular the latest post about Advent.

And last but not least, meet Derek Maul, who brings two blogs to our ring and says about himself,

"Life is good. It's about living in partnership with my wife, Rebekah, about serving God in the context of our church home, about being the parent of two amazing children, and of both honing and using my particular gifts in order to make this world a better place."

His eponymous blog, Derek Maul, has been around for awhile, and more recently he began The Preacher's Husband.

I hope this will be a fruitful week for all our bloggers. Hang in there, the days start getting longer very soon!