Dear Friends in Christ, As we begin this Advent season, looking back to the year that was, and looking toward the year that will be, I am filled with so many complicated emotions: fear & hope, joy & sadness, longing for an end to the pandemic, and a desire for a fresh start. Most of … Continue reading Advent Appeal
Today is another grim day in the United States. Today it is confirmed that at least 250,000 Americans have died of Covid-19. A quarter of a million of our fellow citizens have died since February. To put some context on that number, in less than one year over we have lost half as many people … Continue reading Another Grim Day
For many, many years now, I have been contemplating on the following question: What is the heart of Christianity? I first started to think about this when I read Marcus Borg's "The Heart of Christianity: Rediscovering a Life of Faith" and I started to ask: What is the heart of Christianity? Every time I start … Continue reading A People build on Trust
For the past several years, St. A's and the Episcopal Diocese of Lexington have offered a winter retreat for college-aged (18 to mid-20's) young adults at the diocese' camp and conference center, the Cathedral Domain. At this retreat we have time to relax from and reflect on the previous semester, see old friends and make … Continue reading Solstice 2020
Late in the First Century CE, an anonymous redactor brought together several short pieces on liturgy, morality, church organization, and a brief apocalypse, and made a little document known as the Didache. This 2,300 word document was one of many early church writings that we now consider non-canonical (not part of the Bible) but that … Continue reading The Sacred Meal
Coming to a lectionary reading close to you this Sunday is an absolutely vital reading for the understanding of the faith of Jesus. Not our faith in Jesus, but the faith of Jesus. Since the earliest days of the Church, these two ideas have been confused and have caused a lot of problems in the … Continue reading On which cornerstone do we build?
Today kinda sucks. To tell you the truth, I've been struggling this week with Covid fatigue, some of my own stuff, the way this country is behaving, and a host of other things. It's tempting when we're struggling to reach out for some simple platitudes about how everything will get better or that God keeps … Continue reading Today’s a struggle.
Dear Christian Friends, Today I saw two of the most shocking reports that I have ever seen in my life. That's not exaggeration or hyperbole. These headlines shocked me so much that I am begging you to listen and to act. This morning, like most mornings, I was listening to NPR's Up First podcast (listen … Continue reading Dear Christian Friends…
If you have somehow failed to notice, this year is an election year in the United States. In the US we will elect the president and vice president (and the president will appoint A LOT of people), senators and representatives, both federal and state/commonwealth, mayors, city and county councilors, and everything else down to dog … Continue reading Some thoughts on Religion and Politics.
One of the things I have thought about most during the last decade or so of life in the United States of America is just how sure so many people are about everything. I think it is easy to blame social media and the echo chambers with which people surround themselves for this, but this … Continue reading What hill are you willing to die on?
