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On Churches and Porches

by the Rev. Scott Walters

 

Wendell Berry observed that the eyes were once considered the window to the soul. Now, making eye contact with a stranger on an American city sidewalk can be construed as a form of aggression.

 

What does this say about our souls?

 

The problem here, I suspect, is not urbanization, but privatization. The privatization

22 Angels

by the Rev. Paul McLain

 

Sometimes our liturgical calendar seems to dovetail with the events happening around us. Sometimes, the contrast between the feast and seasonal days in our calendar and what’s actually happening in our world can jar and unnerve us. That is the case this week. Today is Ascension Day, a day when we celebrate Jesus triumphantly ascending

Consider the Birds of the Air

by the Ven. Mimsy Jones

 

Two years ago on Mother’s Day, my children and grandchildren gave me an amazing gift: a large, full-on bird-feeder! Made of heavy black iron, it has four long curved ‘arms’ that curl on the ends to hold containers for seeds and nuts, a block of suet, and, dried mealworms (!). They planted the feeder outside

Sweetheart, you’re in pain.

by the Rev. Katherine Bush

 

You may know by now that I often walk in the mornings in Overton Park. Sometimes I walk with my dogs, sometimes without. Sometimes I listen to music, sometimes I talk to my friend in Connecticut, sometimes I listen to podcasts, sometimes I listen to the birds. A few mornings ago,

Stop. Look. Go.

by the Rev. Scott Walters

 

I’m building a little workshop in our backyard. (The strange rolling sound you hear is coming from the eyeballs of the Calvary staff, who’ve endured weekly shop updates for a while now and have even feigned interest on occasion.) On Monday afternoon, thunder rumbled in the distance as I nailed off the last ridge shingle.

Walking in Hope, not by Sight

by the Rev. Buddy Stallings

 

In preaching last Sunday on the Doubting Thomas passage, where Jesus memorably observes how blessed it is for those who can believe without seeing, I found myself going off in a direction that wiser writers might have recognized as tangential if not full-out going down a rabbit hole. Was it the Holy Spirit or some

“Supposing him to be the gardener”

by the Rev. Katherine Bush

 

This is one of my favorite lines in all of scripture. In John’s Gospel, Mary Magdalene is standing outside the empty tomb early on Easter morning. Nothing makes sense. She is exhausted, frightened, confused. All she really wants to do is finish the work of burying a man she loved and

Ninety-nine, and going strong!

by the Ven. Mimsy Jones

 

She does not look or act her age. She’s no young chick, but she has weathered remarkably well, give or take a few storms along the way, and it seems the older she gets the more resilient and creative she becomes.

 

Through the years, she has gained quite a reputation as a multi-faceted, dynamic, thought-provoking gal,

Turning Soccer Balls into Mustard Seeds

by the Rev. Paul McLain

 

The crisis in Ukraine can seem so overwhelming that we wonder what can we do that would make any difference in something unfolding thousands of miles away. Perhaps the students and faculty of Christian Brothers University (CBU) here in Memphis are showing us the way to make an impact.

 

Alana Canady, a young journalist, shared the

The Lenten Light-Bearer: Remembering The Rev. John R. Claypool

by the Ven. Mimsy Jones

 

Coming to hear John Claypool preach at Calvary’s Lenten Preaching Series was a Do. Not. Miss. Event. In his soft Southern voice, John engaged our hearts and minds to hear Jesus’ parables or the stories of Genesis not only with new ears but also with a new vulnerability. Undergirding all of his preaching was his