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 _?)
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
‘They offered us as an atonement sacrifice for their own antisemitism’: Easter vigil homily from a Palestinian Lutheran church
https://www.facebook.com/christmaslutheranchurch/videos/383323301295151 https://www.facebook.com/christmaslutheranchurch Easter Sunday was a different -- and unexpectedly rewarding -- experience this year. The livestream from our parish church in Springfield wasn't working, so Debi and I wound up watching the livestreamed video from the Easter communion service at Christmas Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bethlehem. We've worshiped with them before, so it was … Continue reading ‘They offered us as an atonement sacrifice for their own antisemitism’: Easter vigil homily from a Palestinian Lutheran church
‘Sumud’: The political gets personal — and spiritual — with a Lutheran social justice program in Palestine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-_CBFUiWeQ Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNDmVwhz-M36yL2radQv-Ol6p_b5ZnA-Y We're halfway through Lent already, but I'm adding another Lenten meditation to my reading list. It's put out by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, in cooperation with its counterpart in Palestine, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land. It's called Sumud, an Arabic word that translates as "steadfastness." … Continue reading ‘Sumud’: The political gets personal — and spiritual — with a Lutheran social justice program in Palestine
Spiritual direction, March 2022
d r a f t Editor’s (admin’s) note: Lightly edited copy of email I wrote in advance of this month’s appointment with my spiritual director, giving her a heads-up on what I’d been journaling on since our last meeting and, more to the point, helping me focus over time by archiving the emails with my journals … Continue reading Spiritual direction, March 2022
After the tumult, a moment of peace … and a moment for peacemakers
St. John's Episcopal-Lafayette Square in background. Business Insider, Nov. 7, 2020. It's been quite a week for peacemakers! Sunday, Nov. 1, was All Saints' Day, and the assigned gospel reading was the version of the Beatitudes in the Gospel according to St. Matthew. Including this (which isn't in Luke's version): "Blessed are the peacemakers, for … Continue reading After the tumult, a moment of peace … and a moment for peacemakers
John Knoepfle, 1923-2019
John Knoepfle, who died Saturday at the age of 96, was awarded an honorary doctorate in 1999 by Springfield College in Illinois (later Benedictine University Springfield). As the faculty adviser/de facto editor of the campus literary magazine at the time, I obtained John's permission to publish his commencement address to the class of 1999, perhaps … Continue reading John Knoepfle, 1923-2019
Ordinary Time 