https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdN7vC2q9Mc 'Wake Awake, For Night is Flying,' arranged by F. Melius Christiansen (St. Olaf College Choir). "Wake, awake! for night is flying,"The watchmen on the heights are crying;"Awake, Jerusalem, arise!"-- Philip Nicolai (Hymnary.org) A couple of weeks ago, I attended a planning workshop at my parish church that took an unexpected turn. The workshop was … Continue reading ‘Awake, for night is flying’: An armchair theologian’s mission statement for Advent and the new year (1 of _?)
Fighting cancer as a group activity — of science, religion, communities of trust and walking the talk with Jesus
Fr. Pollard and Eleanor Roosevelt inspect radiation counter at ORINS, 1955 (Wikipedia). When I was growing up in East Tennessee, an Episcopal priest in a neighboring city was also the executive director of the Oak Ridge Institute of Nuclear Studies, a consortium of universities that worked with the old Atomic Energy Commission to promote nuclear medicine research … Continue reading Fighting cancer as a group activity — of science, religion, communities of trust and walking the talk with Jesus
It’s not all about green beer: How an Anglican hymn attibuted to St. Patrick got me through a midlife career change and a 12-step recovery program
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fqzWs6KPoE St. Patrick's Breastplate, arr. Ron Lewis, Church of the Apostles, Columbia, SC, 2022 It's not all about St. Paddy's Day parades, no matter how much fun it is to march behind your local candidate for city, county or state office. Nor is it always and only about pub-crawling and dyeing the Chicago River green. … Continue reading It’s not all about green beer: How an Anglican hymn attibuted to St. Patrick got me through a midlife career change and a 12-step recovery program
How do you react to abuse without becoming a hater yourself? A ‘nasty’ Episcopal bishop gives us a role model
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNfrbAztlcs What these paradoxes of opposites are all about is a phenomenology in which it is part of the very nature of passionate conflict to turn one into his own enemy. “We become what we hate” is an old yoga maxim. And in watching the conflict of the Irish Troubles, the Dublin yogi, George William … Continue reading How do you react to abuse without becoming a hater yourself? A ‘nasty’ Episcopal bishop gives us a role model
What can a Jewish novelist from the Bronx teach a lapsed mainline Protestant in Tennessee? The things that really matter
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqudmZ5H3iw Editor's (admin's) note. I began this post a couple of weeks ago, and I was just about finished with it when I went in the hospital for a week. During that time, I did a lot of reading. (What else can you do when you're strapped to a hospital bed?) So I lost my … Continue reading What can a Jewish novelist from the Bronx teach a lapsed mainline Protestant in Tennessee? The things that really matter
How does a spiritual mutt go back to the church in spite of the culture wars? Dominican discernment journal (3 of 4)
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)
Richard Rohr, birdbath spirituality, praying to a personal God and growing up with St. Francis in a TVA town
St. Francis preaches to the birds, by Antonio Carnicero, ca. 1789 (Wikimedia Commons) While I was in chemotherapy, I didn't do much writing, but I did read a lot of theology. That's one thing you can still do when you feel lousy. In the process, I discovered a Franciscan intellectual tradition I'd only been dimly … Continue reading Richard Rohr, birdbath spirituality, praying to a personal God and growing up with St. Francis in a TVA town
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
Spiritual journal, September 2022
Lightly edited copy of an email I send monthly to my spiritual director to: (a) give her a heads-up on my where my spiritual journey has taken me since our last meeting, and (b) help me focus for our meeting. Which may or may not go off in unexpected directions. They read like a Reader's … Continue reading Spiritual journal, September 2022
Can an 11th-century legend of St. Patrick teach a 21st-century skeptic to pray? Echoes of a hymn from my confirmation
An Ignatian colloquy for Trinity 2020 -- 2 of ___ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fqzWs6KPoE St. Patrick's Breastplate, arr. Rod Lewis, Columbia, S.C., Trinity Sunday 2020 Editor's note. As I try to jumpstart my prayer life, I've been experimenting with Jesuit prayer exercises known as Ignatian contemplation and the Triple Colloquy, in which you imagine yourself interacting with Jesus. … Continue reading Can an 11th-century legend of St. Patrick teach a 21st-century skeptic to pray? Echoes of a hymn from my confirmation
Episcopal survey research shows disconnect between gospel message and public perception of Christians
Something to file away for when we do the book study on Reclaiming the ''E'' Word: Waking Up to Our Evangelical Identity after Easter at Peace Lutheran -- A recent Ipsos survey commissioned by the Episcopal Church shows the "popularity of Jesus’ teachings and the ways Christians are often perceived as failing to live up … Continue reading Episcopal survey research shows disconnect between gospel message and public perception of Christians
Links to a copy of my James Agee article and his Time magazine cover story on the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
d r a f t Editor's (admin's) note: Miscellaneous notes and quotes for possible later use, on James Agee, the staff writer for Time magazine who did the cover story in August 1945 on the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the end of World War II. In his spot news story, he had a prescient … Continue reading Links to a copy of my James Agee article and his Time magazine cover story on the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Stray thoughts on original sin, Franciscan spirituality and a painting of the Garden of Eden by Jan Brueghel the Elder
Jan Brueghel the Elder and Pieter Paul Rubens, Fall of Adam and Eve (Wikipedia) When God closes a door, as an old saying down South has it, God leaves a window cracked open somewhere. We may have to exercise a little creativity to find it, but there's always another opening. Another old saying, one I … Continue reading Stray thoughts on original sin, Franciscan spirituality and a painting of the Garden of Eden by Jan Brueghel the Elder
canterbury cat pix
d r a f t Dean Robert Willis of Canterbury Cathedral and friend (screen shot from Irish Times story) xxx Leo, one of our cats, jumped onto the table in the middle of the service. And my instinct was to say, 'well, we better stop and do this again.' I didn't. I continued, and I … Continue reading canterbury cat pix
A viral cat video, the archbishop of Canterbury and the dean of the cathedral remind me of the imminence of God
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dy43J76bIwE Global News, the news and current affairs division of the Global Television Network of Vancouver, B.C., reported in 2020: "One of Canterbury Cathedral’s cats, Tiger, helped itself to some milk during a morning message from Dean Robert Willis on July 6." Brought together by serendipity -- a lovely, do-able brief explanation of my favorite Jesuit … Continue reading A viral cat video, the archbishop of Canterbury and the dean of the cathedral remind me of the imminence of God
What Luther said about the presence of God in his cabbage soup and why it matters
"Religionsgespräch [Colloquy] zu Marburg," Christian Karl August Noack, 1867 (Wikipedia) Seen on the unofficial ELCA discussion group's Facebook page, an allusion to Luther's comment "that God is [present] in his cabbage soup." I'd never seen it before, and I loved the quote! Hence this blog post, so I'll know where to look for it. Maybe … Continue reading What Luther said about the presence of God in his cabbage soup and why it matters
God’s presence in an 11th-century Irish poem and a gust of wind on a nice spring afternoon — for Trinity Sunday
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lx-iI-kFDA St. Patrick's Breastplate, Church of the Redeemer, Kenmore, Wash. John 3:1-17 (NRSV). 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being … Continue reading God’s presence in an 11th-century Irish poem and a gust of wind on a nice spring afternoon — for Trinity Sunday
Theologian N.T. Wright rethinks ‘multi-ethnic, polychrome, mutually supportive’ early church, justification by faith
"Century Marks," Christian Century, April 21, 2021, p. 8. We're still quarantining magazines as they come into the house, and when I was going through them last night, a billboarded pull quote from British theologian N.T. Wright in a back issue of Christian Century jumped up off the page, snuggled up to me and wanted … Continue reading Theologian N.T. Wright rethinks ‘multi-ethnic, polychrome, mutually supportive’ early church, justification by faith
A ‘Lutheropalian’ take on confirmation classes and an Anglican hymn based on an old Irish legend of St. Patrick at Tara
https://www.facebook.com/peter.ellertsen/posts/2783699998557695 St. Patrick's Day came this year in a flurry of good news, answered prayers and an affirmation of my childhood faith. It came in the middle of a busy week, and I didn't even remember it was St. Paddy's until evening when I saw the pictures of corned beef, cabbage and full Irish breakfasts … Continue reading A ‘Lutheropalian’ take on confirmation classes and an Anglican hymn based on an old Irish legend of St. Patrick at Tara
Advent festival at Sewanee: ‘Comfort, comfort ye …,’ but there’s a catch: We’ve got to act on the things that give us comfort
Screen shot from Sewanee's website. Click HERE to watch video of this year's Festival of Lessons and Carols (on YouTube) ... and HERE for bulletin with lyrics. One of the silver linings to sheltering in place during the Covid-19 pandemic has been re-establishing connection with old friends on social media ... and, through them, nostalgia … Continue reading Advent festival at Sewanee: ‘Comfort, comfort ye …,’ but there’s a catch: We’ve got to act on the things that give us comfort
Reflections on prayer in the parking lot of a walk-in clinic during a time of pandemic
It's a perfect late fall afternoon, blustery with tufts of white cloud scudding past in a blue sky. Temperature in the 40s, but enough sunshine coming through the windshield that I don't have the car heater on while I'm waiting in the HSHS PromptCare walk-in clinic's parking lot on MacArthur. This is how we do … Continue reading Reflections on prayer in the parking lot of a walk-in clinic during a time of pandemic
Well done, good and faithful servants: A memorial plaque in a university chapel and a meditation for All Saints’ Day
Memorial plaque in All Saints' Chapel, University of the South, Sewanee, Tenn. When my parents lived in the suburbs of Atlanta, Debi and I would drive to Atlanta and back just about every time I had a school vacation. Sometimes I'd drive down on my own. Either way, the trip settled into a set rhythm. … Continue reading Well done, good and faithful servants: A memorial plaque in a university chapel and a meditation for All Saints’ Day
Phillip Cary on Luther — sola scriptura with a twist of performance anxiety
Now here's a guy who's on my wavelength ... Phillip Cary, who teaches philosophy at Eastern University in St. Davids, Pa., has a book out with the somewhat daunting title The Meaning of Protestant Theology: Luther, Augustine, and the Gospel That Gives Us Christ. I hadn't heard of him before, but I saw a review … Continue reading Phillip Cary on Luther — sola scriptura with a twist of performance anxiety
Wisdom from the 1928 Episcopal prayer book, a Jesuit author and a punk rocker-rabbi — with links to common-sense advice on getting ready for a pandemic
Editor's note (March 3). Draft of a post I wrote at the end of February, when it first became apparent the new coronavirus outbreak was about to blossom into a worldwide pandemic. Then, on Saturday night, when I was putting the finishing touches on it, I got sick and was admitted to St. John's Hospital … Continue reading Wisdom from the 1928 Episcopal prayer book, a Jesuit author and a punk rocker-rabbi — with links to common-sense advice on getting ready for a pandemic
Spiritual direction notes — August-October
Copy of an email I sent Saturday evening to my spiritual director. The links are embedded; a couple of minor illiteracies are cleaned up; the paragraphing is endlessly tinkered with (an integral although unnecessary part of my creative process); and a long excerpt from last month's post to this blog on an Episcopal table grace … Continue reading Spiritual direction notes — August-October
Ordinary Time 