When Joy is a Field of Wildflowers: Adopting a Perspective of Abundance

August 23, 2023 By Tricia Gates Brown

Over half of my life I operated not from a perspective of abundance but scarcity. During that time, according to my skewed perception, everyone was a competitor or critic, always judging and potentially threatening, and nothing felt secure. It seemed just when I had something in hand, it would be whisked away. So everything had to be white-knuckled and guarded, whether relationships, status, ideas, or things. But then in 2005, everything changed in an extraordinary season of wonder and transformation... Read more

Why it Matters that Mary was Like You

August 16, 2023 By Tricia Gates Brown

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This week, our farm acquired a rooster needing a home. He is big and bantam, and we christened him Snow White. Since he is afraid of the other chickens—in particular, the other rooster, he hangs out close to the house and I talk to him through the window. Because last Sunday’s lectionary passage (Mt 14:22-33) was about Peter, I was pondering when Jesus warns Peter he will betray him three times before the rooster crows. Of course, that’s what Peter... Read more

’32 Flavors and Then Some’: On the Benefits of Being a Generalist

August 9, 2023 By Tricia Gates Brown

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In talking about his book Range: How Generalists Triumph in a Specialist World, David Epstein frequently mentions the “zigzag,” the shift in career trajectory, the shunting from one hobby or art or sport to the next, the benefits of roaming. While Epstein’s book focuses a good deal on youth and early specialization, specifically the problematic strategy of “pick and stick,” he also writes and speaks about adult concerns: career zigzagging and the benefits of changing your mind. Epstein investigates highly... Read more

When Unmoored, You Search for Moorings: Why We Are All Religious

August 4, 2023 By Tricia Gates Brown

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For six years in my mid-30s, I stopped attending church. I thought the only way to find truth was to get out of the pew and seek it within. Now that I am actual clergy, I smile at how much things change. I still believe in the church of the every day, the every moment, and that truth is no more available to us in a church than in the recesses of our hearts. I still believe many churches are afraid of... Read more

You Are More Than Your Body: The ‘Wolf at My Door’ Series

July 28, 2023 By Tricia Gates Brown

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{For the beginning of this series, click HERE} July brought a turnaround from my early March lupus-crash, to which I credit Rx shifts, natural medicine, aggressive acupuncture, rest. Now, as I measure plans and activities against new limitations, my life is changed; but my gratitude is great for the reprieve. And some things I don’t want to forget, like the white space of silence. In the midst of the crash, down time was imperative, not a choice—in fact, down time... Read more

How Stories Use What You Already Know

July 26, 2023 By Tricia Gates Brown

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Let me tell you a little parable. The kingdom of God is like this: A young woman noticed in her lawn a tiny maple seedling that had grown from a helicopter seed that landed there. Instead of weeding it out, she decided to let it grow. Over the years she cleared around the small tree, and in times of drought, she gave it a drink of water. And over time, the tree grew and grew, casting shade over her family’s... Read more

Why Clarity Requires Contemplation: A Meditation on Bathing

July 19, 2023 By Tricia Gates Brown

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It has been years since I had a shower. In 2007, when I built a little cottage in a big woods, I installed a 100-year-old clawfoot with a cranberry-red exterior. Found on Craigslist, it’s provenance was a Victorian house in a nearby city. Both my contractor and plumber tried to talk me out of it, calling it impractical—the tub was heavy, old and worn, and challenging to install. Yet while this was true, they couldn’t see their misguided motives, clearly... Read more

On Succession, Flannery O’Connor, and the Thrall of Rotten Characters

July 13, 2023 By Tricia Gates Brown

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I am currently in the thrall of Succession, the HBO series that recently ended (and recently swept Emmy nominations). Yet I wasn’t an instant fan. After watching a few episodes, I gave up, finding the main characters too unbearably, uniformly despicable. “I don’t like a single one of them,” I told my husband. “How can I get into it when I don’t care?” But then I encountered thoughtful commentators who lauded the show. Almost immediately upon giving it a second... Read more

Reverend Taylor and the Church of Swifties

July 5, 2023 By Tricia Gates Brown

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For many millennials (not to mention others), Taylor Swift is a religious experience. One such person calls me Mom. My daughter—the same age as Swift—drove the backroads of rural Tillamook County blaring Swift’s earliest albums from a beat-up sedan that won ‘Worst Car’ her senior year. To daughter Madison, Swift comes close to perfection. Deciphering the genius and intent of her songs, the closest thing she has to religion. Her attendance of Taylor’s Eras Tour later this month will be... Read more

What Did Matthew 10:40-42 Mean in Jesus’ Culture?

June 29, 2023 By Tricia Gates Brown

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Understanding the culture behind the scriptures helps much with certain passages. This week’s lectionary gospel is one example. Without contextual understanding, the passage is cryptic and confusing. Anthropologists call a key element of Circum-Mediterranean culture featured in the passage “patron-client relations.” In cultures where access to power, influence, jobs, and other goods requires the help of a patron, people often gain access to patrons through different “middle-men” or “middle-women.” Anthropologists call these figures “brokers.” A middle-man or broker acts on... Read more