Don’t you love it when you’re reading for pleasure and one sentence or two strikes you as so well-said that you have to write it down? That happened to me this week as I began March by Geraldine Brooks. (I should have known there might be some good writing in the book since it did win the 2006 Pulitzer Prize.) I stopped reading to mark the following, and made a vow to myself that I will use the word “knopped”... Read more
World Communion Sunday at Calvary found us celebrating communion with all different kinds of bread. The variety and diversity were tangible symbols of the differences represented when we gather around the table of Christ, especially on this day when we celebrate a worldwide communion. To invite us all to the table we had members of our congregation from different world groups bring a representative loaf of bread from their culture, declare its meaning and then place it on the altar... Read more
After watching The Simpson’s episode Life On the Fast Lane in Sunday School yesterday morning, we learned our assignment for the week was to think about someone we love and make sure to do something to show that person we love them. This may sound like a no-brainer, but in my family it takes some pretty strange things to really show your love. I know what you’re thinking . . . fresh flowers, some candy, a sweet card . .... Read more
It’s been far too long since I’ve recorded my thoughts here. Look for profound musings ahead on . . . World Communion Sunday, Clergy Appreciation Month, why Charleston, South Carolina is a hardship posting, and unconventional ways to say I love you. Coming soon . . . ! Read more
There is a little stretch of sidewalk in downtown DC called Therapy Row. The specific stretch of sidewalk I’m referencing is actually a square from the corner of 8th and H down to the corner of 7th and H, across H to Starbucks (pause here for a Grande Pumpkin Spice Latte) out the door and back down the other side of the street, then across H again and back to Calvary. Actually, “Therapy Row” is not this block’s official, historic... Read more
I had a conversation with our 8-year-old resident sage Sam this weekend that made me remember how different life looks from that vantage point. Do you remember? Sam is a meticulous student and committed learner. He was discussing his concerns over the fact that he feels it will be very likely he will need a cell phone sometime in the future. (The prospect of such an acquisition was clearly one of the most exciting things ever.)Sam’s concern over his future... Read more
I was rather skeptical. Not unlike my friend Homer I scratched my chin in wonder as a friend and colleague told me of her great success using a book called The Gospel According to the The Simpsons as a jumping off point for group discussion of faith issues.I’m not too much of a TV watcher, but I have watched my share of The Simpsons and, truthfully, did not instantly connect those 30 minutes of laughter with deep theological conversation. The... Read more
This morning the air is crisp and the leaves are starting to turn. This is my favorite time of year. Everytime the seasons change I remember God’s faithfulness–the theme running through every one of the changes. Lamentations 3:23-24The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in him.’ Read more
I’m sorry to say I am not sure the exact number, but I think this is probably about #534 on my list of “What I Did Not Learn In Seminary”.We tackled the issue of poverty last Sunday in worship, as the lectionary texts spoke eloquently to the question of how our faith might lead us to address the inequities in our society. Right as the service began, almost as if we had planned it, a man who appeared to be... Read more
The cards on the flowers read, “A little something to remind you of God’s beautiful creation and that you are loved. In remembrance of 9/11”. They stood on the four corners of our busy downtown DC block and handed flowers to weary pedestrians weighed down by the intensity of life in this city capped with the memory of a horrible tragedy 5 years ago.Kids who struggle to achieve what comes too easy to many of us, turning our neighborhood upside... Read more
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