It is tea break time. Which means that a thousand Anglicans are descending as one upon an array of tea, coffee, and biscuits. The cacophony rises up as a prayer, as an offering to the One who knows that if the Christian, nodding however vaguely in the direction of historic Canterbury, doesn’t get to have a cup in between every session, the whole fabric of Christian fellowship will unravel. Yesterday, we climbed into great air conditioned behemoths to be driven... Read more
Day is dawning here in Jerusalem. The light gradually emanates up and over the white-stone-dwelling-clad hills and contends with a thick covering of cloud. If this were Binghamton the sun would struggle (that’s the Christian word for failure) and then give up, retreating in defeat to some other realm. Here, the sun wins. It is only six in the morning and it is already winning. So much winning. I never tire of all of the sun’s winning. Today we will... Read more
Made a valiant attempt to sleep through the night but gave up around 3:30 and FaceTimed the kids. Technology, against which I direct so much personal loathing, is actually a dream and a song. I’ve been on the receiving end of regular emails, texts, and quick chats here and there from all the children. It’s absolutely the best thing ever. Elphine (not her real name) after a steady unrelenting diet of Angela Thirkell, emails missives of early 20th century/late 19th... Read more
Matt and I are safely in Jerusalem, lying back in a travel weary fog, trying to orient ourselves to the glorious view outside out window. Because I don’t have my head quite caught up, I’m giving you all this lovely piece by Jessica Snell. She is brilliant and lovely and all the ways to read her are at the end. Enjoy! Last week, a strange thing happened: our family went to church…and that’s it. That’s all we did: we arrived,... Read more
[Gladys, 10 years ago, in the Garden of Gethsemane] Except, I hope not to go all the way to Zion in any ultimate sense. I’m going to Jerusalem, which, in some ways, I guess, is a city just like any other city, except much much cooler. And more exciting than, say Binghamton, which is more like Babylon. Oh man, that escalated quickly. One Matt and I went to the first Gafcon ten years ago for reasons I can’t quite piece... Read more
I should be packing my suitcase and cleaning my house, but indulge me as I first pause for a lamentation. You can read this depressing thing and then this one, and then mutter to yourself, “What could possibly go wrong.” The men hate the women, and the women hate the men. I mean, I think we’ve unlocked civilizational utopia, that’s what I think. Anyway, I bring them up, those pieces, because I just finished What She Ate: Six Remarkable Women... Read more
Many months ago, James White announced that he was going to dialogue with a Muslim Imam in a church hall one weekday evening. Tickets could be reserved ahead of time. The event would be free, but the organizers wanted to have a sense of how many, and who, they could expect. Both Muslims and Christians applied for tickets and filled up the hall. Muslim-Christian dialogue and debate is White’s specialty. He speaks Arabic, knows the Koran backward and forward, and... Read more
There are a lot of stupid things going on in the world this morning, but I think we should leave those aside for just a moment and dwell on this truly puzzling and unsought moment in human history. Which moment? you ask, vigorously scrolling through twitter in hopes of discovering that no one important has died during the night and that no terrible utterance has passed by the pouting lips of any major world leader. Was there foul heresy in... Read more
Good morning all! We woke up late and did a long and scintillating podcast in which we mourn the death of Anthony Bourdain, mourn the heresy of Andy Stanley, and then argue vociferously over what kind of expectations one should have for one’s president. It’s a podcast for such a time as this, and if you miss it, I just don’t know what kind of life you’ll be able to go on living. And also, sorry it’s so long. And... Read more
Like the wide world, I was horrified and sad to read that Anthony Bourdain, mere days after Kate Spade, had taken his own life. Matt and I can never agree on what to watch of an evening. He wants to bask in interesting, suspenseful, plot-driven, beautifully filmed programs and movies that enrich his mind and appreciation of humanity and the world. I want to scroll past cat videos on YouTube. Anthony Bourdain rambling over the globe, tasting food and life... Read more
Select your answer to see how you score.
Preventing Grace
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In