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My Summer Tech Detox: Lessons Learned

by Rev. Dr. Kelly Jackson Brooks. LPCCAugust 8, 2025 Uncategorized0 comments

This summer, I did a thing. I unplugged. Not entirely, and not forever—but enough to feel it. Enough to notice how entangled I had become in constant notifications, scrolling habits, and the ever-present hum of a device in hand. I needed a break, and my soul knew it before I did. So, I declared a summer tech detox—Removal of social media apps from my phone; Minimal email; and...

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Forgiveness and Reconciliation: Space for Both, but Not Always

by Rev. Dr. Kelly Jackson Brooks. LPCCAugust 1, 2025 Uncategorized0 comments

I have recently been giving a great deal of thought and consideration to the application and understanding of Forgiveness and Reconciliation. I believe that we, as a society, often speak of these two distinct ideals in the same breath, as if they are two sides of the same coin. While they are certainly related, they are not identical. Forgiveness can be an internal act of release—a decision...

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Collective Effervescence and the Need for Community

by Rev. Dr. Kelly Jackson Brooks. LPCCJuly 25, 2025 Uncategorized0 comments

There’s a sacred energy that fills the air when we gather—when voices rise in song, when laughter echoes at shared tables, when silent nods affirm our shared grief. This energy has a name: collective effervescence. Coined by sociologist Émile Durkheim, it describes the powerful, almost electric sense of connection that arises when people come together for a shared purpose, emotion, or...

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Joy Comes in the Morning…not happiness

by Rev. Dr. Kelly Jackson Brooks. LPCCJuly 18, 2025 Uncategorized0 comments

For many years, I used the descriptors of Happiness and Joy interchangeably, as if each held the same weight as the other. But, there is a sacred difference between happiness and joy. Happiness is situational—fleeting and often tied to external circumstances. It’s the smile that comes with good news, the laugh shared over dinner, or the satisfaction of checking everything off the to-do list....

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The Secular and the Sacred

by Rev. Dr. Kelly Jackson Brooks. LPCCJuly 11, 2025 Uncategorized0 comments

During the benediction on my last Sunday in pulpit ministry, I said to the congregation that there’s a good chance that one day, we will run into one another at a local coffee shop. And when we do, let’s greet each other with kind words and soft smiles. I deeply believe that moments shared over a cup of coffee and smiles exchanged across a room are sacred—holy encounters in everyday...

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Living a Faithful and Patriotic Life

by Rev. Dr. Kelly Jackson Brooks. LPCCJuly 4, 2025 Uncategorized0 comments

As I sat watching fireworks from the safety of my home on July 4th, reflecting on the week’s headlines, I found myself thinking about how I express both gratitude and frustration for the country I call home. Living in the United States allows me to hold both of these truths at once – It can be uncomfortable, even unsettling, but it is also honest. It is the space I currently inhabit....

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Leaving Church, Entering the Wilderness

by Rev. Dr. Kelly Jackson Brooks. LPCCJune 27, 2025 Uncategorized0 comments

For your reading pleasure this week, we have invited Mary Ward to share one of her writings from her new blog, The Progressive Pulpit. I found this particular writing of upmost importance and very timely. I hope her words resonate with you and I invite you to read more writings from The Progressive Pulpit. Blessings to you on this journey, Rev. Dr. Kelly Jackson Brooks, LPCC, CEAP...

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Transitions & a Cup of Coffee

I am a big fan of coffee – church coffee, boutique coffee, Starbucks. It does not completely matter to me if my coffee originates from an espresso maker crafted ever so carefully with beautiful artwork showing through the foam from the local coffee shop, or straight from the verismo tucked in the corner of my office. I just enjoy my coffee.

I am also a fan of sharing sacred conversations with those dearest and most important to me over something as simple or complex as a cup of coffee. Conversations that are light and fun that share in celebrations and excitement, and conversations that sit on the soul in a different way. It’s the conversations of life, and laughter, tears, frustrations, broken relationships, and reconciliation. I enjoy a full life of connection.

I find myself this season seeped in sacred conversations embodied by the topic of transitions. These sacred conversations are conversations I find myself having with others as well as with myself. Transitions that include relationship shifts, employment discernment, and faith community affiliations. And yes, these conversations often happen over a simple, yet complex cup of coffee which for me, serves as a reminder of that which is a constant in my life – a grounding if you will to what is present, now.

I encourage each of you to find your grounding – in the midst of simple and complicated and complex conversations which is what makes life so very rich. Seek out those whom you love and care for dearly, and share in this grounding wherever those moments take you.

Grace & Peace,

The Chrysalis Team