https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmE0lRi43qs So this happened Thursday, and it's one more reason -- call it the 100,000,001st (but who's counting?) -- reason why I love Illinois. At sundown on the floor of the state House of Representatives, two Chicago-area freshman legislators rose to points of personal privilege to welcome the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and invite … Continue reading ‘Ramadan Mubarak’ — greeting the Muslim holy month on the floor of the Illinois House of Representatives
The saga continues — I’m locked out of Facebook again, and I’m taking it as a sign to spend more time growing the blog
So I came home from the hospital today with good news I wanted to share. I was there for a EGD scope, a procedure that looks at the upper GI tract. A post-chemotherapy PET scan had shown the original cancer in my bladder was gone -- yay chemo! -- but there was a suspicious area … Continue reading The saga continues — I’m locked out of Facebook again, and I’m taking it as a sign to spend more time growing the blog
Giving up chemo and starting yoga exercises for Lent — an interim progress report as the side effects wear off
Next steps: Jane Adams' gentle yoga for seniors and resting up after chemo. Journaling the last of chemotherapy and its immediate aftermath, then a couple of weeks devoted to gathering strength for what comes next. I started this post three days out from my last infusion, just before the side effects hammered me -- right … Continue reading Giving up chemo and starting yoga exercises for Lent — an interim progress report as the side effects wear off
Citing Luther’s Small Catechism, Missouri Synod president condems white Christian nationalism as ‘evil’
#MAGA Hat Jesus, Jan. 6, 2021 (photo Tyler Merbler, Flickr/Creative Commons) Edited copy of a blast email I sent to participants in "Sundays@6," an online adult faith formation group that Debi and I facilitate for our ELCA Lutheran parish church about the Missouri Synod's official statement on white Christian nationalism as contrary to Christian doctrine … Continue reading Citing Luther’s Small Catechism, Missouri Synod president condems white Christian nationalism as ‘evil’
A chemo-infused reflection on Ash Wednesday, St. Francis and the first few signs of spring outside the window
Giotto, 1297-99, Basilica of St. Francis, Assisi, (WikiArt). Welp, I know what I want to give up for Lent this year: Chemotherapy. That's what. Yesterday I celebrated Shrove Tuesday, or Mardi Gras, by beginning my last cycle of chemotherapy at the Southern Illinois University medical school's Simmons Cancer Institute. No pancakes, but I did eat … Continue reading A chemo-infused reflection on Ash Wednesday, St. Francis and the first few signs of spring outside the window
‘I will arise and go to Jesus’: Seeking a personal God for a dark February twilight of the soul in Ilia Delio’s christology
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0vo43hu_HQ Virtual Choir, FAPCinNYC, Sept. 27, 2020 There's an image in Gary Snyder's "How Poetry Comes to Me" that I like very much. He compares poetry, the creative impulse, to a wild animal that comes up to his campfire, but stays just out of range at the edge of the darkness. So, says the poet, … Continue reading ‘I will arise and go to Jesus’: Seeking a personal God for a dark February twilight of the soul in Ilia Delio’s christology
Sundays@6: ‘Holy envy’ and Krister Stendahl’s rules for interfaith dialog
Lightly edited copy of a blast email sent out to participants in an online book discussion group Debi and I facilitate for our parish, Peace Lutheran Church of Springfield, Ill. (It meets Sundays at 6 p.m. — hence the name.) We are discussing “Holy Envy” by Barbara Brown Taylor. Her title comes from Harvard Divinity School dean (and Swedish … Continue reading Sundays@6: ‘Holy envy’ and Krister Stendahl’s rules for interfaith dialog
Sundays@6: Notes for online parish book study session on Buddhism, ‘Holy Envy’ by Barbara Brown Taylor
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lxq-RiLb-6M Lightly edited copy of a blast email sent out to participants in an online book discussion group Debi and I facilitate for our parish, Peace Lutheran Church of Springfield, Ill. (It meets Sundays at 6 p.m. — hence the name.) We are discussing “Holy Envy” by Barbara Brown Taylor. Her title comes from Harvard Divinity School dean (and … Continue reading Sundays@6: Notes for online parish book study session on Buddhism, ‘Holy Envy’ by Barbara Brown Taylor
12-step wisdom and a terrible, horrible, kinda good, maybe not-so-bad day halfway through chemotherapy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YOQbE692s8&t=266s Fr. Brendan McManus SJ, Gardiner Street Parish Dublin, recorded Oct. 25, 2020 As I reach the halfway point in chemotherapy this week, I'm making a special effort to take things one day at a time. So let me tell you about a terrible, horrible, maybe kinda good, not-so-bad-after-all day I had last week. As … Continue reading 12-step wisdom and a terrible, horrible, kinda good, maybe not-so-bad day halfway through chemotherapy
Sundays@6: Barbara Brown Taylor visits a Hindu temple in Atlanta with her college religious studies students
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EICcU9oN-s Lightly edited copy of a blast email sent out to participants in an online book discussion group Debi and I facilitate for our parish, Peace Lutheran Church of Springfield, Ill. (It meets Sundays at 6 p.m. — hence the name.) We are discussing “Holy Envy” by Barbara Brown Taylor. Her title comes from Swedish bishop Krister Stendahl’s … Continue reading Sundays@6: Barbara Brown Taylor visits a Hindu temple in Atlanta with her college religious studies students
Ordinary Time 