Forward Day By Day – September 2, 2018

Sunday, September 2, 2018

The stories of the Old Testament live warmly in my childhood memory alongside Mother Goose and Winnie the Pooh. It has been a thrilling process to undertake an adulthood journey of bringing these stories into a startling, clear, modern light.  Throughout the Old...

Forward Day By Day – September 1, 2018

Saturday, September 1, 2018

I am writing this reflection eleven days after I was on the streets in Charlottesville, Virginia, protesting a white supremacist rally. The streets were desecrated by the presence of evil made manifest. No amount of spiritual preparation could have readied me to walk...

Forward Day By Day – August 31, 2018

Friday, August 31, 2018

Sigmund Freud believed that human beings will go to great lengths to deny unpleasant truths about themselves. The method he developed to treat mental illness helped his patients face these truths. By doing so, they were often able to eliminate the symptoms.Based on...

Forward Day By Day – August 30, 2018

Thursday, August 30, 2018

Many years ago, I attended training for a special trauma therapy developed by groundbreaking psychologist Francine Shapiro. The training included a relaxation exercise called the Safe Place.The person facilitating the Safe Place exercise asks the client to imagine the...

Forward Day By Day – August 29, 2018

Wednesday, August 29, 2018

When I was a young boy, I imagined God as an omnipotent version of my parents, watching me every hour of the day. Every sin, even the smallest misstep, was seen from on high and recorded in the great book of my blunders.I now understand this was a distorted and wonky...

Forward Day By Day – August 28, 2018

Tuesday, August 28, 2018

A few days ago, I was attending a social event and was shocked to run into a former friend with whom I’d had a falling out. Suddenly, this person stood in front of me, and I had to make a split-second decision on how to react. So of course, I made the wrong decision....

Forward Day By Day – August 27, 2018

Monday, August 27, 2018

From losing my parents and dear friends to a career failure, I have had my heart broken many times. During those periods, I have often struggled to find God’s peace, the peace that passes all understanding. I’ve also had a hard time achieving what the country...

Forward Day By Day – August 26, 2018

Sunday, August 26, 2018

Some of my friends are distressed because their adult children have fallen away from regular church attendance. These parents tried hard to raise their children to love the church as much as they did and feel deeply hurt when their children slowly drift away from the...

Forward Day By Day – August 25, 2018

Saturday, August 25, 2018

Over the years, many people have sat across from me and have said they want nothing more from life than its end. But the people who say these things in my office often want something else. More than death, many of them really want to be relieved from pain. They want...

Forward Day By Day – August 24, 2018

Friday, August 24, 2018

I was a very sad little boy. I had good reason to be sad, too. I had more loss and struggle in my life before I turned ten than I would ever wish on my very worst enemy. My life was bleak and hopeless.But my teacher, Mr. Holloman, tried mightily to cheer me up. One...

Forward Day By Day – August 23, 2018

Thursday, August 23, 2018

Can you imagine praising the Lord after losing everything in life important to you? I can’t. I struggled with praising God after losing out on a promotion recently. I even get mad when my fantasy football team does poorly. Yet in today’s reading, Job prays words of...

Forward Day By Day – August 22, 2018

Wednesday, August 22, 2018

We often live our precious lives in fear of scarcity. Something about being human seems to make us fear not having enough. While people seek out psychotherapy for many reasons, a big issue is a fear of not enough. Some are concerned they don’t have enough self-esteem...

Forward Day By Day – August 21, 2018

Tuesday, August 21, 2018

Author Anne Lamott recounts a story about her brother in one of her books. Age 10 at the time of the story, her brother had waited until the last minute to complete a school assignment cataloging a large number of birds. He was feeling very hopeless when their father...

Virginia Opts for Provisional Bishop

Monday, August 20, 2018

Helen K. Spence, president of the Diocese of Virginia’s standing committee, announces plans for a provisional bishop to serve for three years or more: The process the Standing Committee will follow will be similar to what happens in a parish when a rector leaves, and...

Parish Merger in Dallas

Monday, August 20, 2018

Church of the Incarnation has merged with Trinity Church in Dallas to create new growth in a parish that has declined in attendance for several years. The new campus, Incarnation North, is scheduled to launch public worship in August 2019, said the Rev. Thomas...