Rev. Val

Still here.

YouTube video by Rev. Valerie Ohle (Rev. Val) Fire In My Bones

Fear is the engine of war.
Fear escalates.
Fear simplifies.
Fear reduces human beings to targets and maps.
But love interrupts.
Love complicates.
Love insists that every civilian is someone’s whole world.
Holy fire does not burn villages.
Holy fire burns lies.
#BeUMC
youtu.be/v9IFzi5nUKI?...

youtu.be/TPqETm3zqvk?...

YouTube video by Rev. Valerie Ohle (Rev. Val) Ash Wednesday at Union Grove UMC

Ash Wednesday at Union Grove UMC
We are dust.

And deeply loved.

We carry burdens.

And we are carried.

We sing in the valley.

We sing in the fire.

We sing at midnight.

And even in a minor key —

the song is not over.

#BeUMC

youtu.be/tZjpXBZpm0U?...

YouTube video by Rev. Valerie Ohle (Rev. Val) Prophets Without Honor

Sometimes the hardest place to tell the truth is home. Jeremiah felt too young. Jesus was dismissed in his own hometown. And still—God kept calling.

Before rejection comes,
God names who we are.
#BeUMC #truthtellersandtableturners
youtu.be/PE8Q6ZUjfwI?...

YouTube video by Rev. Valerie Ohle (Rev. Val) Speak, Lord

It starts in the silence.
A whisper in the dark.
A call you weren’t expecting… or weren’t sure was real.
#BeUMC #truthtellersandtableturners
youtu.be/1zLrqtPmnNE?...

Final Design Concept: The Clergy Peace Seal Core Form Circular seal (same visual family as the resistance emblems) Crescent arc formed by the wings (visual echo without copying) Dove centered, facing upward (not outward, not aggressive) Dove-as-Cross Integration (Option 1) The body of the dove forms the vertical beam of the cross The outstretched wings form the horizontal beam This should be felt, not outlined (no literal wooden cross—this is theology, not signage) This says: Christ is not carried by the Church; the Church is carried by Christ. Flame Integration (Option 3 refinement) A small flame at the heart of the dove, not above it Flame shape: simple, almost teardrop-like Inside the flame: suggested light, not detail This matters: Above-head flame = authority Heart flame = calling Clergy don’t rule. They bear witness. Color Palette (chosen deliberately) Here’s what I recommend—and why: Primary Deep slate blue – peace, endurance, sky, Minnesota-adjacent without being state-bound Warm bone / parchment white – sacred, ancient, human Accents Muted gold / soft amber – Spirit fire, holiness without aggression Charcoal (not black) – gravity without violence 🚫 No red. 🚫 No stark black-and-white. 🚫 No metallic shine. This should look like it belongs: on a stole on a sanctuary door on a clergy letter on a quiet sign held by someone who isn’t shouting What This Symbol Communicates (without words) “We are not the state.” “We are not neutral.” “We will not be moved by fear.” “Our resistance is rooted in something older than your power.” That’s dangerous in the best way.

IYKYK
#BeUMC #HolyTrouble #truthtellersandtableturners
(Image info in the alt text)

YouTube video by Rev. Valerie Ohle (Rev. Val) Holy Trouble

#BeUMC
youtu.be/h8153DISndY?...

Thank you. That's good to know.

I don't know why I still maintain an account on this platform. I can't seem to figure it out. Of all the platforms I'm on, I have the most followers here, and the lowest interactions. ::sigh::
#BeUMC #Booksky

YouTube video by Rev. Valerie Ohle (Rev. Val) Sending a #signal to all #teens on #Prophets: What Is a Prophet, Anyway?

#BeUMC #youthministry #teens
youtube.com/shorts/i5noW...

YouTube video by Rev. Valerie Ohle (Rev. Val) Looking #betweenthelines with #tweens about Prophets

#BeUMC #youthministry #tweens
youtube.com/shorts/gC2UR...

YouTube video by Rev. Valerie Ohle (Rev. Val) A #littlemoment about Prophets for Littles

#BeUMC #childrenschurch
youtube.com/shorts/tEhHZ...

YouTube video by Rev. Valerie Ohle (Rev. Val) What Is a Prophet, Anyway?

What is a prophet, anyway?
Most people hear that word and think of crystal balls, doom-and-gloom, future predictions.
Or maybe angry street preachers with bullhorns.
Or maybe just someone who “seems off”—a bit too intense.
#BeUMC
youtu.be/M0S96EqZpbg

A call out to those who've retired or are presently unappointed ... we have sheep to feed, don't we?
#BeUMC

YouTube video by Rev. Valerie Ohle (Rev. Val) When God Says Go

When God says “Go,” you don’t have to be ready.
You don’t have to be worthy.
You don’t even have to be willing.
You just have to stop running. #BeUMC
youtu.be/wfzEC1o2hVI?...

Little Moments for the Little Folk

Between the Lines for Tweens

Signal for Teens

I'm introducing 3 new online ministries this year ... inclusive, doctrine- and indoctrination-free messages for youth ages 0-18. (I won't tell if grownups listen, too!)
#BeUMC #childrenschurch #youthministry

Do you dare?
#BeUMC

YouTube video by Rev. Valerie Ohle (Rev. Val) Anointed for Justice

The waters were still when Jesus stepped in.
Not stormy.
Not chaotic.
Just still—
like the hush before something holy.
And then, it happened ...
#BeUMC
youtu.be/gAPw-B6c1Do?...

YouTube video by Rev. Valerie Ohle (Rev. Val) On Masculine Leadership, Public Hangings, Tent Pegs, and Mallets

I had a moment. What can I say? They hit my last nerve. Must be my day to drive a tent peg in the skull of the patriarchy.
#BeUMC #smashthepatriarchy #toxicmasculinity
youtu.be/kr98yR74aJo

YouTube video by Rev. Valerie Ohle (Rev. Val) Peace for the Powerless

It's the second Sunday of Advent, and we're lighting the candle of Peace. Peace is not polite.
It’s prophetic.
And it starts with us.
#BeUMC #advent #uniongroveumc #blountcountytn #church #hepingzhanshi #jesus #peace
youtu.be/YwwpOpeXS7I?...

A little something for the "Littles" this second week of Advent.
#BeUMC

#BeUMC

A little something for the "Littles" this first week of Advent.

I Am My Own Temple A Reflection on One Perfect Line from a Chinese Drama - Every once in a while, a line from a drama hits so hard you feel it in your bones. This one did.Three sentences.Three hammer blows.And suddenly ...

A patriarchal father asked his daughter about preserving the family line.

She answered:
“You know men don’t have wombs, right?
Home is where the woman is — I am my own temple.”

That sound you hear?
Generations of assumptions cracking.
#BeUMC #women
revsheseesfar.substack.com/p/i-am-my-ow...

YouTube video by Rev. Valerie Ohle (Rev. Val) Hope is Born in the Waiting

Welcome to the first Sunday of Advent, where the whole world is waiting—not with dread, but with holy anticipation. Today we begin with Hope: not as a feeling, but as a decision. Even in the shadows, we light the candle. #BeUMC #Advent #hope #worship
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6goR...

#BeUMC Advent - Because The Whole World Is Waiting ...

When the Wolves Guard the Gate How the Insurance Industry Is Quietly Deciding Which Churches Get to Live - We paid faithfully for years. One storm hit, one claim, one sigh of relief—and then the letter came: “We will not be renewin...

My church paid thousands every year for insurance—one claim, an act of God—and the insurer still dropped us. Not because of damage, but because of risk. And in America, a church that shelters the vulnerable is “too risky” to insure.
#BeUMC
open.substack.com/pub/revshese...

God be with them. :(
#BeUMC

YouTube video by Rev. Valerie Ohle (Rev. Val) I Kinda' Sorta' Did a Thing ...

I kinda' sorta' did a thing ...
#BeUMC #booksky #authorsky #biblestudy #devotional #progressivechristianity
youtube.com/shorts/qU4_J...