No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend’s or of thine own were: … READ MORE…
As we said the Prayers of the People last Sunday (Form VI in the Book of Common Prayer), I realized that one of the petitions directly pertains to me, as well as many of my friends. As I spoke the response, “For the victims of hunger, fear, injustice, and oppression”, I realized that I am … READ MORE…
Cathedral friends, My partner, Roger Haenke, and I hosted the Dining for Dorcas Summer Garden dinner Saturday last week, Jul 31. We consider it to have been a huge success. We had never thrown a dinner party for 25 people before, at least not one where we were cooking everything ourselves! So we were a … READ MORE…
Dear Friends at St. Paul’s, I just came back from a retreat in Healdsburg, CA – a Benedictine Experience! Thought I’d tell a story about it … Visiting my spiritual director last year, I scampered around her bookshelves, peering at titles of tomes. A small, slender volume squeaked from the shelf, its title faded, “Seeking … READ MORE…
Merriam Webster defines the word gay as meaning, “keenly alive and exuberant : having or inducing high spirits “. In this regard, Pride weekend was a great success in more ways than we might have imagined. Friday night, a contingent representing St Paul’s, led by the Rev. Canon Allisyn Thomas, attended the Pride opening rally … READ MORE…
San Diego Pride has awarded St Paul’s Cathedral the Stonewall Service Award. From the San Diego Pride press release: Since hosting the first national convention on the West Coast in the early 1980s calling for LGBT rights within the Episcopal Church, St. Paul’s Cathedral in Bankers Hill has visibly campaigned against Proposition 8, and enlisted … READ MORE…
The Forum last week discussed the concept of “open Communion”, that is, what happens when Communion is restricted to the baptized, and what are the arguments for opening it to all. A couple of years ago, the blog “Fr Jake Stops the World” reviewed “Take this Bread” by Sarah Miles. In this book, the author … READ MORE…
Having written and published two novels over the past year has produced some interesting effects on other people. On me too, but first, other people. These effects range from a sort of hushed awe by some folks who have never been in the presence of a living, breathing (usually) writer whom they elevate to the … READ MORE…
We value what meets our needs, hopes and dreams. In this is a key to building relationships and wholesome communities. People are drawn to those who discern and deliver what they need. We would tend to draw toward each other more if we all discerned and delivered what each other needed. Thanking one another might … READ MORE…
As far back as I can remember, I have had a plan and a road map to where I think I needed to go in life. Whether it was planning for college, the job I would take after college, the perfect career, the house I would buy, the car, the perfect wedding and the perfect … READ MORE…