I hear rattling!
Posted in Uncategorized on Oct 4th, 2011
God doesn’t give us much time to enjoy Eden. Two chapters of wonder and creative power and beauty, and then over 1,000 chapters of life east of Eden. And that cherubim with the flaming sword meant to guard the gates? We’ve felt the heat of that sword at every turn. I’ve been pondering my ancestral [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Oct 3rd, 2011
At the outset of the 2011 election campaigns, here’s another plea that Christians become aware of the ways we are divided by the waves of moral manipulation in the mouths of candidates of both parties. Will we find the paths of righteousness in campaign speeches? Methinks not. Nor does my fellow Episcopalian and Patheos columnist, [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Oct 2nd, 2011
At home in my dresser upstairs I have a wee yellow sock, about four inches long. Just one. Downstairs I have a drawer in the laundry room full of single socks, which, despite my husband’s indictment, do not lose their partners through any collusion on my part. Those socks are casualties of clothes-basket subterfuge, a [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Aug 17th, 2011
Because I spend a lot of time reading and editing online articles on religion, and because we Americans are particularly sensitive to issues of public expressions of faith, and because the campaigning season is upon us, I also get a healthy dose of politics. The 2012 election is nearly 15 months away, and I’m already [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Aug 12th, 2011
The lectionary reading for this coming Sunday is from the Gospel of Matthew, 15.21-28 – the faith of the Canaanite woman. On many of my readings over the years, all I could really think about in this short story is how apparently rude Jesus is to the poor woman. First he ignores her; then he [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Aug 8th, 2011
As many of you may know, my passion is the Church — its unity, its sanctity, its truth. I lament the state of the Church for a lot of reasons. Here is a visual lament, beautiful and mournful: Thirty Abandoned Churches from Around the World. Imagine vital communities gathering, celebrating, remembering, worshipping in these buildings. [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Aug 5th, 2011
We have all seen the galling pictures of poor children in underdeveloped countries around the world, and perhaps we have become inured to their connections with real, everyday life. Photographer James Mollison has seen something else through his lens and it gets behind the stereotypical shots of poverty and privilege. His recently released book, Where [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Jul 29th, 2011
There isn’t much in scripture that seems to indicate Our Lord will be using my email habits to judge my soul. I don’t think He’ll have to look that hard. Nevertheless, forwarded emails about Jesus that demand I send them on to ten people or surrender my salvation make me nervous. “Stop what you’re doing [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Jul 26th, 2011
Today I ran across an interesting commentary on the quick fixes churches apply to the church growth problem. Dan Dick was writing about the United Methodist experience, but his comments could apply across the board. He considered the measures the denomination and local churches had taken to reverse church decline, and noted that “The United [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Jul 25th, 2011
“Why, O Lord, do you stand off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?” The deaths of 68 young people at a camp in Norway silences us with horror and grief. The looming menace of the federal government’s default makes us stoop with dread and frustration. The drought and famine in Somalia appalls [...]
