Lord's Prayer in 100+ languages, Pater Noster Church, Jerusalem (Wikimedia Commons). Third of four journals based on my answers raised by questions sent to Dominican Associates in advance of an Aug. 24 retreat at the motherhouse in Springfield. See HERE for more info in the first journal. Today's questions, on My Relationship with Church/ Community, … Continue reading How does a spiritual mutt go back to the church in spite of the culture wars? Dominican discernment journal (3 of 4)
Sumud, accompaniment and Palestinian resistance — definitions and background for Sundays@6
Wall art, Sumud Story House, Bethlehem (Wikimedia Commons). Editor's (admin's) note. Copy of a handout I put together for Sundays@6, the adult faith formation book study group Debi and I co-facilitate at Peace Lutheran Church in Springfield. I composed it in WordPress so I could easily create hypertext links as I drafted it. In October … Continue reading Sumud, accompaniment and Palestinian resistance — definitions and background for Sundays@6
‘Fit me for the builder’s use’ — a lectio divina meditation on an alt-country song by Tyler Childers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqrxHOKhOBE I hope that people take, it doesn’t matter, race, creed, religion, and all of that, the most important part is to protect your heart, cultivate that, and make that something useful for the world. -- Tyler Childers, Whiskey Riff (2022). Let's try something new here. For several years I've been trying my hand at … Continue reading ‘Fit me for the builder’s use’ — a lectio divina meditation on an alt-country song by Tyler Childers
Finns re-examine Luther on justification by faith, the indwelling of Christ and other theological headaches
Luther, second from right in back row, and theologians, 1557 woodcut (Wikimedia) A couple of weeks ago, I noticed an item on the Patheos website by Ted Peters, emeritus professor of systematic theology and ethics at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary and the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley. I like to check him out from time to … Continue reading Finns re-examine Luther on justification by faith, the indwelling of Christ and other theological headaches
Sundays@6: Methodists ‘of the extreme center’ and a look ahead at Barbara Brown Taylor’s book on holy envy
Editor's note. Lightly edited copy of a blast email I sent out to participants in an online adult faith formation/book study discussion group that Debi and I co-facilitate for members and friends of our Lutheran parish. Our sessions have taken an interfaith turn this year. We started with "Reclaiming the E-Word [evangelism]" and "Reclaiming the … Continue reading Sundays@6: Methodists ‘of the extreme center’ and a look ahead at Barbara Brown Taylor’s book on holy envy
What’s the right way to do centering prayer? ‘Pray as you can’: A stripped-down Trappist spiritual practice for today
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IKpFHfNdnE Editor's note (Oct. 17). I started this a couple of days before I had a tumor removed from my bladder. But I ran out of time, and I was in no mood last night to stay up late journaling before a 5:30 a.m. check-in time today. The procedure went off as scheduled; I'm home … Continue reading What’s the right way to do centering prayer? ‘Pray as you can’: A stripped-down Trappist spiritual practice for today
My soul doth magnify my Anglican/ Lutheran heritage: Growing up with the music of Ralph Vaughan Williams
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BNYxujthUA Festival of Lessons and Carols, St. John's Episcopal Church, Ithaca N.Y., Dec. 23, 2018 Maybe it's serendipity. Or maybe it's because God has a wry sense of humor. But I've spent the past week reconnecting with the Anglican tradition in which I grew up. Not because of any discernment or intention on my part, … Continue reading My soul doth magnify my Anglican/ Lutheran heritage: Growing up with the music of Ralph Vaughan Williams
Sundays@6: Tiptoeing through the TULIPs as a parish book study group reads up on 16th- and 17th-century Calvinism
Editor’s (admin’s) Note. Copy of a blast email I sent out to members of an online adult faith formation/book study group that Debi and I co-facilitate. (It meets Sundays at 6 p.m. -- hence the name.) Archived here for what it says about interfaith relations, since we're studying a book by a United Methodist minister who … Continue reading Sundays@6: Tiptoeing through the TULIPs as a parish book study group reads up on 16th- and 17th-century Calvinism
‘Sundays@6’: New book on Christian traditions for parish book study, plus a lovely quote on 4th-century heresies
Flier [w/ edits] prepared for parish newsletter. Editor's (admin's) Note. Copy of a blast email I sent out to members of an online adult faith formation/book study group that Debi and I co-facilitate. (It meets Sundays at 6 p.m., as you might guess.) Lightly edited to remove a couple of obvious illiteracies and set off … Continue reading ‘Sundays@6’: New book on Christian traditions for parish book study, plus a lovely quote on 4th-century heresies
A trail of breadcrumbs in Roger Williams’ garden — short takes on theological hair-splitting, mix-and-match spirituality and an ongoing research project
Cartoon by Man Martin (rpt. Winnipeg Free Press, March 16, 2019) Short takes on a general theme that didn't start to jell until I'd been thinking about it for the better part of a month. It's still not completely jelled -- can we think of it as a Jell-O fruit salad? -- but I think … Continue reading A trail of breadcrumbs in Roger Williams’ garden — short takes on theological hair-splitting, mix-and-match spirituality and an ongoing research project
Here’s what Krister Stendahl said, in his own words, about ‘holy envy’ in the context of effective interfaith dialog
Krister Stendahl, dean of Harvard Divinity School and bishop of Stockholm in the Lutheran state Church of Sweden, is probably best known now for his "three rules of religious understanding" -- especially the third rule, "Leave room for 'holy envy'," which supplied the title of a best-selling book in 2019. The book is Barbara Brown … Continue reading Here’s what Krister Stendahl said, in his own words, about ‘holy envy’ in the context of effective interfaith dialog
Promo for a parish book study — what things matter most in a time of declining mainline church membership?
Editor's (admin's) note. Lightly edited copy of a blast email I sent out promoting a new book study that my wife and I are co-facilitating for an adult faith formation group in our ELCA Lutheran parish. While the book is about "renewing the church from its Lutheran core," and it quotes Martin Luther extensively, its … Continue reading Promo for a parish book study — what things matter most in a time of declining mainline church membership?
Spiritual direction, May 2022
Editor’s (admin’s) note. Lightly edited copy of an email I sent to my spiritual director the night before our monthly meeting for May. I email her every month, mostly to focus my mind before we meet, and I archive them here so I have a record of issues I’ve dealt with over time. Here's my monthly … Continue reading Spiritual direction, May 2022
Caring for creation in a time of environmental crisis: Stewardship, sacrament and Laudato Si’
Jubilee Farm, Center for Ecology and Spirituality, Springfield, Illinois, April 2022 In my inbox today, by coincidence when I've been doing keyword searches for ecumenical resources on Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato Si', a copy of Richard Rohr's summary of this week's daily meditations on the theme "A Sacramental Reality." One of those coincidences we're reminded … Continue reading Caring for creation in a time of environmental crisis: Stewardship, sacrament and Laudato Si’
‘Let’s take care of it’: (Mostly) Lutheran resources on Laudato Si’ and ELCA’s 1993 statement on Caring for Creation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vjxWnFnKFo (YouTube, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Nov. 5, 2021) The power of God is present at all places, even in the tiniest tree leaf. Do you think God is sleeping on a pillow in heaven? ... God is wholly present in all creation, in every corner, behind you and before you. -- Martin Luther … Continue reading ‘Let’s take care of it’: (Mostly) Lutheran resources on Laudato Si’ and ELCA’s 1993 statement on Caring for Creation
How ‘holy envy’ enhances religious pluralism and guards against spiritual shoplifting or appropriation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdXAGm5xm9M Palm Sunday, 2016, Saint John's Orthodox Church, Warren, Ohio. I've been thinking lately about the concept of "holy envy" and the Swedish academic who coined the term. That's partly because I worry that the whole idea of pluralism -- both religious and secular -- is under sustained attack now at home and abroad. I … Continue reading How ‘holy envy’ enhances religious pluralism and guards against spiritual shoplifting or appropriation
Uneasy with St. John’s bias against ‘the Jews’ in an age of religious pluralism? Here are a couple of ways to deal with it
Christ Before Pilate, Hans Holbein the Younger, ca. 1538-40 (Wikimedia Commons) Now comes Jim McDermott SJ, associate editor of the Jesuit magazine America, and suggests -- in the headline, no less -- "The Gospel of John has been used to justify anti-Semitism—so we should stop reading it on Good Friday." To which I say: Amen, … Continue reading Uneasy with St. John’s bias against ‘the Jews’ in an age of religious pluralism? Here are a couple of ways to deal with it
Thoughts, prayers, wisdom from the Talmud and acting against ‘the enormity of the world’s grief’ in wartime
Screen grab of meme shared to my Facebook news feed, Oct. 29, 2021. For several months I've been wanting to jumpstart my prayer life, but until last week I never would have thought it would involve the heartache of praying for peace in Ukraine in the face of a failed World War II-style blitzkrieg that … Continue reading Thoughts, prayers, wisdom from the Talmud and acting against ‘the enormity of the world’s grief’ in wartime
Laudato Si’, climate change and intersectionality: Not really somebody else’s problem
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d51EtDceF38&t=106s An ongoing discussion of Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato Si' is changing the way I think about intersectionality. It first came up several weeks ago in a Zoom dialog on the Laudato Si' Action Platform. The dialog, conducted by the Springfield Dominican Sisters' action program committee, would have been held at the motherhouse. It was … Continue reading Laudato Si’, climate change and intersectionality: Not really somebody else’s problem
Notes on a scientific study on spirituality — how doing good does you good; also Jewish-Christian relations, book of Hebrews
When I taught mass comms at Benedictine, I used to tell the kids sometimes you can do pretty darn well for yourself by doing good. I thought it fit our mission as a faith-based college, and, besides, I believed it. Now comes Lisa Miller, a psychologist at Columbia Teachers College, with a study offering scientific … Continue reading Notes on a scientific study on spirituality — how doing good does you good; also Jewish-Christian relations, book of Hebrews
A query that went nowhere: On David Brooks, the prophet Jeremiah, a French jurist, ‘creative minorities,’ cultural diversity, UNESCO and ‘reciprocal creolization’
Excerpts from a query: Sent Thu, Jul 22, 8:32 PM -- it doesn't matter who I sent it to, and I have no plans to fool around with a free-standing article, but Mireille Delmas-Marty's concept of "reciprocal creolization," a process of cultural blending that involves dialogue and mutual respect for differences, fits in so well with … Continue reading A query that went nowhere: On David Brooks, the prophet Jeremiah, a French jurist, ‘creative minorities,’ cultural diversity, UNESCO and ‘reciprocal creolization’
Notes & quotes — Augustana Synod and ecumenical relations
Two very useful articles on the subject: Allan Pfnister, "Augustana College and Theological Seminary: A Brief History," AHA, Spring 2002, 6-9 http://augustanaheritage.augustana.edu/aha_spring_2001.pdfvery clear on help Esbjorn got from president of Knox College, Passavant, p. 7-8 2. Derek R. Nelson, "Unity, Ecumenicity, and Difference in the. Augustana Synod," Lutheran Quarterly, 24 (2010) http://augustanaheritage.augustana.edu/Nelson_on_Unity.pdf This same theme, that of affi rming the validity … Continue reading Notes & quotes — Augustana Synod and ecumenical relations
A Lenten meditation on covenants, a Christian nationalist lynch mob, green bananas and a book proposal
Editor's (admin's) Note. Second of ___ Lenten meditations based on lectionary readings on the covenants of Noah, Abraham and Moses. This one takes off from the covenant of Abraham, makes a quick stop in Puritan New England and deplanes in today's central Illinois. Clearing skies over Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem, November 2012 Mark 8 … Continue reading A Lenten meditation on covenants, a Christian nationalist lynch mob, green bananas and a book proposal
Krister Stendahl’s ‘holy envy,’ who gets to go to heaven and Luther’s dear angels in 19th-century Chicago: New perspectives on an ongoing research project
D R A F T Krister Stendahl prays at U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, April 22, 1993 (C-SPAN). As I move on from my presentation on 19th-century Swedish immigrant churches for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, I've been cleaning my office -- sort of like clearing the decks for a sea battle in the … Continue reading Krister Stendahl’s ‘holy envy,’ who gets to go to heaven and Luther’s dear angels in 19th-century Chicago: New perspectives on an ongoing research project
‘Swedes in Roger William’s Garden’
Proposal for the paper I'm scheduled to present next month at the 22nd annual Conference on Illinois History sponsored by the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. Conference program and registration information are available HERE. Sessions will be conducted by Zoom, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. My session will be from 10:45 a.m. to 12:15 … Continue reading ‘Swedes in Roger William’s Garden’
‘Dear Church’: A tapestry of discipleship and a call for white folks to ‘do good white folk work’ to help dismantle racism
What can the "whitest denomination(s) in the US" do about institutional racism in this time of pandemic and racial reckoning? Quite a bit, actually. At least more than you'd think, according to the Rev. Lenny Duncan of Vancouver, Wash. Mission development pastor at a Lutheran church in Vancouver, Duncan is the author of Dear Church: A … Continue reading ‘Dear Church’: A tapestry of discipleship and a call for white folks to ‘do good white folk work’ to help dismantle racism
Tzedakah: Acting as God’s agents
Just in time for "God's Work Our Hands Sunday" in the ELCA Lutheran churches -- Excerpts from Saturday's column by Rabbi Barry Marks in the State Journal-Register on a related Jewish concept -- tzedakah, or obligatory acts of charity. "When we respond generously to the needs of our fellow persons, we are acting as God’s … Continue reading Tzedakah: Acting as God’s agents
Ordinary Time 