Yes, I'm a minister. No, I don't have a church.

A Legion of Demons Luke 8:26-39 The Rev. Laura Mariko Cheifetz Westminster Presbyterian Church June 19, 2016 I don’t know about you, when I think about preaching, there’s nothing more fun and unexpected than the passage on the Gerasene demoniac. From a purely literary standpoint, this is a great story. Jesus travels a ways to Gerasa, significant because it had a strong non-Jewish presence, foreshadowing his ministry to people who are not Jewish, and met a man possessed. This story contains elements specific to Jewish sensibilities – pigs (unclean), tombs (unclean), naked (probably not a good sign). To have a human being chained, where the dead are buried, naked, and guarded denotes serious social and religious isolation. We don’t know anything about this man except his current condition. We don’t know how Jesus heard of him. We don’t know how long the demons have possessed him, we don’t know how hard the community tried to keep him and themselves safe and in their midst before h...

The text below comes from an interactive keynote presentation I gave at the Presbytery of Los Ranchos "Mission Connections: Listening to All Voices" event on February 6, 2016. Introduction Greetings from Louisville, KY and greetings on behalf of the Presbyterian Publishing Corporation, one of the six agencies of the Presbyterian Church (USA) . I work with the denominational publisher, home of the Glory to God hymnal , and the Feasting on the Word commentary series. We are completely self-sustaining, a medium-sized religious publisher, better known by our major imprint Westminster John Knox Press . My name is Laura Mariko Cheifetz. Cheifetz is my family name, from my Polish-Ukrainian-Lithuanian Jewish family members who fled persecution in Eastern Europe over 100 years ago. If you know my parents, serving in San Francisco Presbytery, you know that I pronounce our name differently. I have no tattoos or body piercings and never snuck out at night to joyride or get high. I...

This is the first blog post for the Companions on the Inner Way retreat. You may find the second blog post here: Seeking Home: Where Do We Come From? Here are the other blog posts: Seeking Home: Where Do We Come From?  Who Have We Become? UnBelonging Exile and Belonging Beloved I am delighted to spend this week as the blogger for the summer Companions on the Inner Way retreat (more information at www.cotiway.org ), a “guided retreat grounded in the Christian tradition. By honoring body, mind and soul, companions are invited to the inner journey with the Spirit.” It is an ecumenical gathering at the Zephyr Point Presbyterian Conference Center at Lake Tahoe. (If you want to make my heart flutter, say “ecumenical” or “Lake Tahoe.”) This week’s theme is “Seeking Home & the Practice of Belonging.” The featured speaker is Enuma Okoro, who is a fabulous human being, author, speaker, and consultant. You can find her at http://enumaokoro.com/ First, a word a...

Welcome to the blog series celebrating the 2015 Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, inspired by the "Our New Day Begun" series celebrating Black History Month by the Rev. Tawnya Denise Anderson. This month, you will read profiles of Asian Pacific American Presbyterian leaders, spanning many generations and ethnicities. Check back throughout May for more profiles! 
A look at other posts: Presbyterians Celebrating Asian Pacific American Heritage Month The Rev. Charlene Han Powell The Rev. Phil Tom The Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow The Rev. Yena Hwang The Rev Joann Haejong Lee The Rev. Shawn Kang The Rev. Neal Presa The Rev. Jim Huang Joey Lee is the Executive Presbyter of the  Presbytery of San Jose , and lives in San Jose, California. Are you a “cradle Presbyterian,” or did you come to the tradition later in life? I am a “cradle Presbyterian,” and God willing, will complete that phrase “…to grave Presbyterian.” I was baptized as an infant at Montview Boulevar...

Welcome to the blog series celebrating the 2015 Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, inspired by the  "Our New Day Begun" series  celebrating Black History Month by the Rev. Tawnya Denise Anderson. This month, you will read profiles of Asian Pacific American Presbyterian leaders, spanning many generations and ethnicities. Check back throughout May for more profiles! 
A look at other posts: Presbyterians Celebrating Asian Pacific American Heritage Month The Rev. Charlene Han Powell The Rev. Phil Tom The Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow The Rev. Yena Hwang The Rev. Joann Haejong Lee The Rev. Shawn Kang Jim Huang of New Brunswick, NJ serves as the Senior Pastor of the Taiwanese/American Fellowship Presbyterian Church . Here he is with his wife KuanFen Liu and daughter Terilyn Huang. Are you a “cradle Presbyterian,” or did you come to the tradition later in life? I am a cradle Presbyterian, but from a different country. I was born in Taiwan, baptized as an infant in a chu...

Welcome to the blog series celebrating the 2015 Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, inspired by the  "Our New Day Begun" series  celebrating Black History Month by the Rev. Tawnya Denise Anderson. This month, you will read profiles of Asian Pacific American Presbyterian leaders, spanning many generations and ethnicities. Check back throughout May for more profiles! 
A look at other posts: Presbyterians Celebrating Asian Pacific American Heritage Month The Rev. Charlene Han Powell The Rev. Phil Tom The Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow The Rev. Yena Hwang The Rev. Joann Haejong Lee The Rev. Shawn Kang The Rev. Jim Huang The Rev. Neal D. Presa, Ph.D. serves as  Associate Pastor at Village Community Presbyterian Church , Rancho Santa Fe, CA and as  Extraordinary Associate Professor of Practical Theology, North-West University , Potschefstroom, South Africa. He is the i mmediate Past Moderator of the 220th General Assembly (2012) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). ...

Welcome to the blog series celebrating the 2015 Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, inspired by the  "Our New Day Begun" series  celebrating Black History Month by the Rev. Tawnya Denise Anderson. This month, you will read profiles of Asian Pacific American Presbyterian leaders, spanning many generations and ethnicities. Check back throughout May for more profiles! 
A look at other posts: Presbyterians Celebrating Asian Pacific American Heritage Month The Rev. Charlene Han Powell The Rev. Phil Tom The Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow The Rev. Yena Hwang The Rev. Joann Haejong Lee The Rev. Neal Presa The Rev. Jim Huang The Rev. Shawn Kang is the pastor at Pathways Church of Houston in Houston, TX. Are you a “cradle Presbyterian,” or did you come to the tradition later in life? I grew up in the Presbyterian Church.  When I was little, my parents were part of a small Korean Presbyterian church in Detroit, Michigan.   What do you most appreciate about this...