Napping Our Way Through Advent Advent is unique, and has particular lessons for us, each year. This year in particular, I believe, calls for napping our way through Advent. In my liturgical church, the first season of each liturgical year is Advent. It is a season of anticipation and preparation. Advent is about taking time to find the sacred in the everyday. One of the challenges of Advent each year is finding the time to start the year well by anticipating… Read more

Spiritual Practice of Reading Building a healthy spiritual practice of reading is about more than loving to read. I have loved to read since I learned how to do it. Reading teaches me about the magic and power of words. One of my wife’s greatest fears is needing to wait somewhere with nothing to read. It is ironic how our developing contemplative life strengthens our love for words and reading. A growing appreciation for contemplation and stillness complements how we… Read more

Beginning Advent in an Unusual Year This weekend we are beginning Advent in an unusual year. Each year shares things with other years, and each year is unique. Every season of Advent begins a new liturgical year. The first season in the liturgical year is Advent. It is a season of preparation and anticipation for Christmas. Advent focuses on recognizing what is sacred in everyday life and it sets the tone for the rest of the year. We use everyday… Read more

Requiem for a Quarter Million People Our country has lost the contributions of a quarter million people to the coronavirus. The loss we are experiencing is neither primarily a political problem nor an economic one. Obviously, losing that many people will send ripples through our politics and disrupt the economy. We are inundated every day with arguments about what we need and do not need to do and how we can recover. I have my own opinions about wearing masks,… Read more

Now is the Winter of Our Discontent This has been a long, painful, sorrowful year and many of us have already entered the winter of our discontent. The year has brought us to our knees. We feel exhausted and are looking for something, or someone, to inspire us. Most of us are not able to migrate right now and it feels like a good time for us to begin hibernating for a long, cold winter. Our screens show us images… Read more