February 11, 2024 “Write down with your own hand on paper what God has written with his hand on the human heart.” Pelagius For Christmas this past year, I gave my daughter a stack of notecards, each one inscribed with a quotation that had drifted across my path from the Universe and had gifted me. ContinueContinue reading “From Pelagius to David Bowie”
Category Archives: spirituality
Advent 4: Not yet and Now
December 24, 2023 Every seven years, the fourth Sunday of Advent lands on December 24 and coincides with Christmas Eve. What’s to be done, since Advent is a season of waiting and Santa Claus is coming tonight? For many Christians, it offers a day of church-going, marking the fourth Sunday of Advent and its purpleContinueContinue reading “Advent 4: Not yet and Now”
Advent One: A Story
December 2023 When I was a child, I was mesmerized by the Advent Season. Mesmerized is a powerful word, and completely accurate. I still see that sense of rapt wonder on the faces of children watching candlelight, and I hope it still shows on my own. Advent, which means coming, is the four-week period inContinueContinue reading “Advent One: A Story”
Reinventing Self
June 30, 2023 Some years ago, when I was active clergy and had been at my church for thirteen years, I found myself in a time of discernment about my future. A fellow clergy person with a thirty-year stay at his church suggested that the key to a long-term, fruitful ministry was to “reinvent” oneselfContinueContinue reading “Reinventing Self”
Epiphany: The Rest of the Rest of the Christmas Story
January 6, 2023 For many Christians, the Feast of Epiphany marks the end of the Christmas Season and is the culminating celebration of the Twelve Days of Christmas. The story of the Epiphany is found only in the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter Two, and it involves the non-Jewish wise men/kings/magi/astronomers (supposedly three, but no numberContinueContinue reading “Epiphany: The Rest of the Rest of the Christmas Story”
The Psalms of Advent: Amen
December 16, 2022 “The world is not respectable; it is mortal, tormented, deluded forever; but it is shot through with beauty, with love, with glints of courage and laughter; and in these, the spirit blooms . . . .” George Santayana Twenty-one days ago, I began this series on The Psalms of Advent with theContinueContinue reading “The Psalms of Advent: Amen”
Thursday, Advent Week 3: Shine
The Psalms of Advent, December 15, 2022 You are invited to light a candle and join me as we reflect upon the final psalm selected for Advent, as designated in the Revised Common Lectionary. I hope you will sit with this psalm and listen for the word that Spirit is whispering to you. Today’s poem,ContinueContinue reading “Thursday, Advent Week 3: Shine”
Wednesday, Advent Week 3: Deep
The Psalms of Advent, December 14, 2022 You are invited to light a candle and join me as we finish sitting with Psalm 42 this morning. You may find this psalm at https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2042&version=NRSVUE. My favorite verse in all of the psalms is found in this one, where “deep calls to deep” (verse 7). Within eachContinueContinue reading “Wednesday, Advent Week 3: Deep”
Tuesday, Advent Week 3: Where?
You are invited to light a candle and join me as we continue our journey with Advent Psalm 42, found here: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2042&version=NRSVUE. As mentioned in the previous blog, the author of this poignant psalm-song-poem was most likely in Babylonian exile or had just returned to Israel, perhaps Jerusalem, and was mourning the ruin and displacementContinueContinue reading “Tuesday, Advent Week 3: Where?”
Monday, Advent Week 3: Thirst
Psalms of Advent, December 12, 2022 You are invited to join me as we listen to Psalm 42, the second to last of the Advent psalms for this season of seeking, waiting, anticipating, and searching for the light that shines in the darkness. Psalm 42 is familiar to many people because of the memorable imageryContinueContinue reading “Monday, Advent Week 3: Thirst”
Spirit Reflections 