There is a well-known grounding practice to use when we are feeling overwhelmed or anxious. Name five things we can see, four things we can feel, three things we can hear, two things we can smell, and one thing we can taste. This exercise brings us fully and completely into the present moment,
In a city in a neighboring state several years ago, a man named John was convicted of financial wrongdoing for his role in a savings and loan association scandal. When people of the city heard about his conviction, they had many of the expected reactions. Some said, “It’s about time someone was
Today was overfull, so I’ve had a hard time being still enough for long enough to hammer out a blog post. But here I am, attempting to do so before heading off to bed, the day after a presidential election season like no other. This day also happens to be the Feast of
It’s not uncommon to hear someone offering the following counsel about reading the Bible: just skip over the begats. I’ve said it. If you want to read the Bible, especially if you endeavor to read the whole thing – front to back, then it feels okay to give you a
“Someday, you will have something very important to say, and the world will listen,” my Dad said. I gazed quietly out the window of his Volkswagen camper van as it slowly carried us down the mountain. My brothers, sprawled across the plaid banquette seats, were busy reading comic books on
One danger we all face is falling into the trap of stereotyping others. In our Wednesday evening study of David Brooks’s How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others and Being Deeply Seen, we learn that one thing that blocks us from seeing another person is “essentialism.”
“But those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)
I heard those words for the first time in a stirring sermon delivered by Eric Liddell, the great Scottish runner, in the
After about sixty of us watched the Philadelphia Eleven documentary about the eleven women who were the first ordained to the priesthood in the Episcopal Church, I shared a story I learned only recently about that occasion.
I just came across a quote from Lucille Clifton, which the universe was clearly dropping into my lap as blog fodder. So here it is:
“You can murder poems, I mean, I’ve done it, when you start thinking too hard in your own way and you start intellectualizing, because I think a poem
Tuesday of last week marked the Feast of Saint Barnabas. His name means “son of encouragement.” His original name was Joseph, but when his fellow apostles recognized his gift for encouraging others, they changed his name. Early on, Barnabas sold a piece of land that he owned. He took the money he received