My Acorn TV obsession of the moment is a series called The Clinic. It’s an ensemble medical drama set in Ireland. Over and over again misunderstandings and conflict arise because people don’t spell out what they need or what they mean. They keep missing opportunities for important conversations about relationships, death, and family. Maybe you … READ MORE…
Listen. What do you hear? The breathing of the person next to you. The traffic outside. A voice. The shuffling of paper. The beating of your own heart. There is no background music, no mechanical buzz. This is a quiet place, a sacred space, a refuge from the chaos and noise of the world. In … READ MORE…
For four weeks now we have been hearing about Jesus and bread. He fed the multitude with bread and fish. He spoke of manna in the wilderness as bread from heaven. He said, ¨I am the Bread of Life¨. And now he says, ¨I am the living bread that came down from heaven … Those … READ MORE…
“Every cloud has a silver lining. That test was a piece of cake. Don´t worry, I was only pulling your leg.” What do these phrases have in common? They are all idioms, phrases that mean something different from what the individual words say and that would not make sense if translated into another language word … READ MORE…
Almost exactly 12 years ago, I made a big life change. I had been working in corporate America. I was successful, and good at what I did. I made enough money. I lived in a nice, new house in the LA area. And 12 years ago this month, I left that behind, sold my house, … READ MORE…
There´s a lot about coming and going mentioned in our Scripture today. King David is enjoying being settled at home after his comings and goings and now wants to make sure God settles down with him. Paul writes to the Ephesians about those who were far off from God coming near. Jesus and his disciples … READ MORE…
You know, we’re still talking about it! A certain African American cleric preaches at a certain family wedding in the UK, albeit one watched by billions, and proceeds to turn the world quite literally upside down. Indeed, just last week, the Archbishop of York started his Presidential address to the General Synod of the Church … READ MORE…
On Friday, the Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis published an almost entirely blank editorial page. At the end of a week when a supreme court justice announced his retirement and national turmoil continued over the detention of immigrant families, the Capital Gazette chose not to express any opinion in its Friday edition. Instead, the page … READ MORE…
When I was in seminary about 10 years ago, one of the things we were required to do to prepare us for life in ordained ministry was to go on a mission trip to the Mexico side of the Texas border. The goal of that trip wasn’t to proselytize, or build anything, or to evangelize. … READ MORE…
In the summer of 1995, as part of my ordination process, I was required to spend ten weeks working full time as a hospital chaplain. The program included several overnight shifts as the on-call chaplain at Yale New Haven Hospital. At the time my sons were nearly 5 and nearly 8. My husband had a … READ MORE…