A few years ago I was teaching novel-writing at The Writer’s Room, a space above a consignment shop on Park Boulevard. One day I was stopped on the street outside by a young man I’ll call Daniel. He wanted me to read his novel – his seven-hundred page novel. He was sure it was ready … READ MORE…
I’m not quite sure where I am writing this from – somewhere over the pacific I guess. I was fully expecting to skip Good Friday this year – and with quite a valid reason. I am flying on a business trip to Australia. I took off from LAX on Thursday night and am due to … READ MORE…
Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland” scored as a box office hit of Tsunami proportions on its opening weekend. As Barnabas and I dropped our 3-D glasses into the recycle bin on our way out of the theater I was taken back to another time and place. The year was 1964 and the place was a … READ MORE…
Epiphany babies are twice blessed. They don’t get quite the attention as kids born on Christmas, nor do they get as lost in the intensity of Christmas celebrations. Epiphany kids grow up knowing the wise men bring gifts to the baby Jesus and that is part of the Gospel around the feast of the Epiphany, … READ MORE…
As a youngster I was always surprised each year when I read Charles Dickens’ Christmas Carol, or heard the radio broadcast starring Lionel Barrymore (This was before television.) Later, I enjoyed the various television specials. I think my favorite is the one in which the late George Scott portrayed Ebenezer Scrooge. At the climax of … READ MORE…
Each year when Christmas rolls around I think of a story of about an addict and his recovery. It happened a number of years ago. Life had become about as bad as it could be for this poor fellow. He had reached the point where he had no friends, no meaning in life and was … READ MORE…
In the non-so-thriving town of Augusta, Ohio where I spent a great deal of my youth, we had a telephone of the kind that will be familiar to those of you who remember episodes of “Lassie” on TV. It was a box that hung on the wall in our hall, had a mouthpiece sticking out … READ MORE…
BP and I were on the road again in October, and thanks to the wonders of Google, were able to find a parish for the Sunday. The church we found is called (I kid you not) St Alban’s-by-St-Andrew’s, as it resides right next door to the small Cathedral of St Andrew. It’s a smallish building, … READ MORE…
This past week (Wednesday November 11th), I celebrated the 2nd anniversary of my Baptism here at St. Paul’s. At the time, it was an inconceivable event in my life that marked me as Christ’s own forever, and set into motion a series of events and experiences that I could never have imagined – First and … READ MORE…
As Scott said, I was asked to talk about why I love St. Paul’s, and I’m going to do that in three short scenes. Last spring, I helped with the baptism class, in which parents and sponsors learn and reflect about the meaning of Baptism. Toward the end of the class, I watched as these … READ MORE…