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 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 and a prescient take on what the new "atomic age" would … 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
Ordinary Time 