God’s Worst Idea

Last updated on: November 1, 2012 at 7:00 am By Vance Morgan

I spent the Spring 2009 semester on sabbatical as a Resident Scholar at the Collegeville Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research in Collegeville, MN. Father Kilian McDonnell is a living legend there. He is the founder and President Institute; a nice oil painting hangs in tribute in the Institute’s Butler Center. Although the Institute has a director and staff, Kilian’s influence and presence looms large. He is treated like Merrill Lynch once was treated. When he speaks, people listen. Kilian started writing... Read more

Big Bird

Last updated on: October 25, 2012 at 7:00 am By Vance Morgan

This is the first election cycle in my remembrance that, at least for a week or so, an eight-foot yellow bird has played a central role in presidential politics. When one candidate promised that his policies, if elected, will put the bird’s employment status in jeopardy, people sat up and took notice. This particular bird has played a special role in my family’s life for several decades. Strangely enough our journey with this bird began with trying to help my... Read more

Original Sin

Last updated on: October 9, 2012 at 6:20 am By Vance Morgan

Five summers ago, I attended a writers conference for the first time in my life. My workshop was “Literary Essay”; each of the fifteen members wrote daily 500 word essays, which were submitted to colleagues for critique and (hopefully) helpful evaluation. My essays tended to praise the virtues of my dog and the Boston Red Sox, while frequently expressing struggles with faith, God, religion, and my own very human inadequacies. About halfway through the two-week conference, during a critique session when I... Read more

The Fertility of Silence

Last updated on: October 4, 2012 at 7:00 am By Vance Morgan

This may sound odd coming from a person who started this blog a few weeks ago, but over the years I’ve not been a fan of social media, electronic readers, and the like. A year and a half ago, a couple of good friends and I were conversing about a topic that had been on everyone’s minds for a few weeks—the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. In short order, however, the conversation turned into a rant (from me) about the generally... Read more

I Don’t Like It

Last updated on: September 15, 2012 at 7:00 am By Vance Morgan

A baptism was part of the morning service a few Sundays ago. Actually, there were two baptisms—ten year old Brooke and her two year old brother Jacob. Many moons ago, when I was in my twenties and considering joining the Episcopal Church, their practice of baptizing young children, even infants, gave me pause. So much about the Episcopal way of doing things was attractive and an obvious spiritual balm to the scars I carried in my twenties from my conservative, fundamentalist... Read more

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