At noon today (as I write), an Irish friend and I will Zoom (suddenly a verb in our vocabularies that needs no explanation). Pádraig is a poet and theologian and has worked in conflict resolution in the North of Ireland. He’s going to record poems for our Advent Service of Lessons & Carols,
by the Rev. Amber Carswell
A famous artist that Missy admires liked a photo of hers on Instagram. The problem was that it was a picture of Missy and me at the beach; the artist has never liked a picture of Missy’s artwork. This was the second time in a week I’ve had this conversation: a theologian I follow and
Last Wednesday morning, Ruthie and I arrived early at 157 Poplar to be among the first hundred people or so to vote in Shelby County. I must confess that I’m a “political junkie” who enjoys following campaigns and elections. But one thing that troubles me about our process of selecting leaders and deciding issues is
We are thrilled and grateful that Bishop Phoebe Roaf has issued guidelines for the reception of Eucharist in one kind (bread only) indoors.
We plan to celebrate Holy Eucharist at Calvary beginning this Sunday, Oct. 18, at 10 a.m. All of our general protocols for Morning Prayer remain in place.
On my days off and evenings, I’ve been adding on to our tool shed. There’s not much room between it and the fence at the back of our lot. But a four-foot extension provided storage for bicycles and a few of my clunkier carpentry tools that I’d rather not lug up from the
Some days, time seems to have ground to a halt in what we’re coming to call Covidtide, with so many ordinary markers and routines having been removed from our lives or altered beyond recognition. At other times, we find ourselves shelving yesterday’s plans, in light of today’s reality, in order to make something new happen tomorrow. Remember back in
Identifying candidates to serve on the vestry, the governing board of our parish, is one of the most important tasks of our faith community. Members of the vestry act as agents of the parish in all matters involving parish property and assets and assisting the parish in its planning and in leadership. A candidate for vestry should exhibit personal
One of the regulars at our Community Breakfast on Sunday mornings is an older man who goes by the street names of “Hippie” or “Shine.” He’s called Shine because that’s what he does – he shines shoes. This past Sunday morning, he gave my black shoes a long overdue shine and we visited as he
Last night, a discussion of Mary Magdelene reminded me of a poem about her by Jane Kenyon. You can find the text of “Woman, Why Are You Weeping?” here, but be warned: if this is a cheery day for you and you’d like to keep it that way, read no further.
To my mind, Pharaohs and Egyptians, who have been showing up with Moses & Co. in our Sunday readings recently, were the Old Testament equivalents of Darth Vader and the stormtroopers, the sort of folks whose drowning gets celebrated in poems and happy camp songs.
