When I was first ordained a priest, I served as curate at St. Benedict’s parish, in Smyrna. The parish was a new church start, brand new, from scratch. It was an incredible place. Still is. We met for the first two years or so in a middle school gymnasium while...
Almost twenty years ago, while in undergrad, I had the opportunity to travel to Belize with a group of Chemistry and Biology majors to study the tropical reefs off the coast of Ambergris Caye. It was an incredible experience, to swim with sharks and turtles and eat conch fritters on...
Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls. (Matthew 11:30) On December 8, 1968,...
This morning, I want to invite us into a different type of reflection, given what we continue to face in our world. There is such a tendency to fill space with words, with some idea that will relieve anxiety or seek to fix a problem, to make a claim. I...
You should know I had an entirely different sermon written for today, but yesterday I really struggled to know what to say right now. The original words I had crafted so carefully, with quotes by Meister Eckhart that weaved with the encounter between Abraham and the strangers at the Oakes...
Last week, Stuart mentioned that we had tried to compose a prayer that captured the wide range of hurt and frustration we felt in the light of current events in our country. And, then, we remembered “A Prayer for the Whole Human Family,” that exquisite intercession from the Book of...
Last week, I made my first pastoral visit in two months. Two months. I had to get special permission from the bishop to go and visit Ann Beadling in the nursing home wing of Lanier Village. Yes, I had to get permission to go visit both because of the risk...
“Then, the disciples asked him, ‘Is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?’” I get it. Giving sound to the deaf and sight to the blind; resuscitating the dead, and being resurrected from hell — all excellent moments, or, as the text says, “many convincing truths.”...
When we were looking for a new house early last year, we worked with a realtor and gave him a random mixture of qualities and items that we were looking for. I wanted a fireplace, Lisa wanted it not to have many repair issues, we knew we were getting cats,...
I have never really spent much time around sheep, so it is hard for me to really “get into” the Gospel texts about sheep and shepherding. We had plenty of livestock around us as children back in Arkansas, but no sheep. We even had one family take on raising emus,...