For many years we were members of a neighborhood church with a rapidly growing Afro-Caribbean population. With the influx of West Indian Anglicans, we needed to build a larger space for worship. Our rector sadly told us that the diocesan committee had refused our...
The phrase “toxic masculinity” has become part of the conversation about forms of violence in our society. Toxic masculinity excuses bad behavior with the adage “Boys will be boys.” This approach isn’t helpful for any of us, boys or otherwise, especially when it...
I was named Mary for my father’s mother, and my middle name is Miller, my maternal grandmother’s maiden name. Until I was five or six, I was called Mary Miller—which I hated. Like a number of women of my generation, I took my husband’s last name when we...
Do you know your carbon footprint? The average American person produces 16.4 metric tons of CO2 per year. (Source: https://greenliving.lovetoknow.com/What_Is_the_Average_Carb…) What is a carbon footprint? It is the measure of greenhouse gases that one is...
Most days I haven’t been out of bed very long before I catch sight of a headline on my phone or the front page of the newspaper and plunge headlong into fretting because of evildoers. This seems a particularly dark time in our country.Surely, we aren’t supposed to let...
Week One: Chapters 1 and 2 of Autopsy of a Deceased Church by Thom S. Rainer “Anxiousness about the future destroys the life of a congregation. Out of this anxiousness the pastor and people try to control events. This is a tremendous waste of energy, and drains the...
Growing up Presbyterian, I don’t recall observing Ash Wednesday, much less fasting. As an adult Episcopalian, I decided that since gluttony is one of my more obvious sins, not eating on Ash Wednesday would be an appropriate discipline. For several years, I set dinner...
The scholars ponder: The DivineIndwells—or not? The bread and wine.Of God’s “real presence,” I’ve no doubt;my own, I’m not so sure about.Paying attention is not easy. In conversation, even with those dear to me, I often realize….(View this reading and more...
A group of us were hiking up a mountain trail, and the trail markings suddenly seemed confusing. We headed in one direction, then quickly retraced our steps. As we debated our options, a woman came up the path behind us. She was part of a group of volunteers...
We sometimes see glimpses of transfiguration at a wedding, the birth of a child, or the celebration of some significant accomplishment. “She was glowing,” we say. “His face lit up.”What if we could see that light and recognize belovedness in every face?We live...
