“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you,” Jesus said to the disciples at their last meal together. For most of us, peace has come to mean the absence of major wars, but in Hebrew, the word for peace is Shalom, meaning Fullness, Harmony, Wholeness.
After five months of work on the organ restoration, I’m delighted to offer an update on its progress.
First, I can assure you that every pipe was recovered from the horrifying theft we experienced in May. Some of them were badly damaged but can be repaired and brought back to their original state.
One of my all-time favorite authors is Annie Dillard, and I am loving spending a few weeks this November discussing some of her essays in Teaching a Stone to Talk. One of the earliest offerings that I gleaned from reading her books was this relatively straightforward quotation, “We catch
Identifying candidates to serve on the vestry, the governing board of the parish, is one of the most important tasks of our parish community. Members of the vestry act as agents of the parish in all matters involving parish property and assets and assist the parish in its planning and in leadership. A candidate for the vestry
On Sunday, Nov. 5, the choirs of Calvary and Grace-St. Luke’s Episcopal churches will join voices at Grace-St. Luke’s to present a Eucharist incorporating Maurice Duruflé’s Requiem for solo baritone, mezzo-soprano, mixed choir, and organ. The service will begin at 5 p.m. Dr. Kristin Lensch, Calvary’s organist-choirmaster,
In June, I learned of the death of a friend and mentor, the Rev. Nicolette Papanek. Nicolette taught me much about how to appreciate God and God’s creation. She was a quilter, both with fabrics and words. She had a gift for weaving disparate patches of cloth and ideas into a unified vision that brought
Vestry election season is upon us. And several important goods are in tension in parish elections. The first is that an effective vestry depends on a diversity of gifts and perspectives. It needs men and women, of various ages and interests, with different areas of expertise and experience. It needs longstanding members and active people who have
Many of you know that a few weeks ago Ardelle and I walked a leg of the Camino de Santiago de Compostela in Spain. This is the third such trip we have taken with a group. Something I love about this strange pedestrian endeavor is the movement back and forth between solitude and
The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store is the title of the best book I have read in a very long time.
Written by James McBride, acclaimed author of The Color of Water, The Good Lord Bird, and Deacon King Kong (oh my gosh, what a deacon!), The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store is a rollicking, smart,
I spent last Saturday at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC, helping make a new bishop. I can say that I was actually helping because I was part of a group of people who surrounded my friend to officially present her at the start of the liturgy. Projecting (as