What would Paul say to the Church in the Philadelphia Region Today?

At the Getting to Know the Bible event on July 14th, twenty-five of us gathered to have a group project about understanding Paul as he is described in Acts and how he represents himself in his many letters. It was a 90 minute session so it was obviously just scraping the surface. The best partContinue reading "What would Paul say to the Church in the Philadelphia Region Today?"

Laughable Abundance: A Story for Your Buoyancy

The truck that delivered the problem Dear Friend, Times are tough, right? Sorry, I don't know how to say anything that doesn't sound inadequate so I'll leave that question there. I have a story that really helped me float through a day that started chin deep in the toughness of the times. Spoilers: nothing changesContinue reading "Laughable Abundance: A Story for Your Buoyancy"

How does a Christian Celebrate the Fourth of July?

Happy Fourth of July? How does a Christian celebrate the beginning of a nation with such a shaky foundation? Thomas Jefferson wrote about self-evident truths that were so abstract they excluded women and black people from their universality. The land the American Revolutionaries fought for was stolen from the First Nations people. But I don’tContinue reading "How does a Christian Celebrate the Fourth of July?"

Hey (!), White People (!), We Get to Repent!

What an extraordinary moment in American History! A bunch of my friends are getting the day off for Juneteenth. There's talk of making it a national holiday and I don't think that sounds far-fetched.  Confederate monuments are coming down. Christopher Columbus statues are coming down. It seems like the last vestiges of racism in AmericaContinue reading "Hey (!), White People (!), We Get to Repent!"

A Friday Poem (and an endorsement for the Comfort Retreat)

Some contextI wrote this poem at the Comfort Retreat last year. We spent a good part of the day groping inthe spiritual dark for something to hold on to. We found it in each others hands and our own hearts. we found it in shared songs and stories. We found it in showing the tenderestContinue reading "A Friday Poem (and an endorsement for the Comfort Retreat)"

The Mental Health Benefits of Circle of Hope

"Washed" by Jan L. Richardson It seems to me that it is common to separate the mental health benefits of participation in our church from the other things we do to gain and maintain our mental health. We go to therapy, we practice mindfulness, we exercise, we do yoga, we journal... oh! and I guessContinue reading "The Mental Health Benefits of Circle of Hope"

How Does a Christian Celebrate Memorial Day?

During the Covid 19 pandemic should we hit the boardwalk or stay at home? Are the CDC and the government our only authorities? What does Jesus say? And in any Memorial Day, how do we relate to those who died in war and their families while also resolving to decry the existence of war? JesusContinue reading "How Does a Christian Celebrate Memorial Day?"

Forcing It – a Friday sonnet

My poet's pen is a bit dried up of late. Not sure why.  This poem form last year gets at some of the feelings of trying to make something happen that isn't happening. I like the suggested submission to the concrete shards on the urban beach most. Something about smoothed over brokenness seems to beContinue reading "Forcing It – a Friday sonnet"

What if online church sucks?

This is objectively not the same What if online church sucks? I don't think there is any question that this sucks. I know, I probably shouldn't say "sucks", but if you just want to suck your teeth at the prospect of your next zoom cell meeting, or live stream Sunday meeting, trust me; you areContinue reading "What if online church sucks?"

Turning to Before and Behind — A Friday Sonnet

There was power in the walking and the making. Maintaining the physical space added a concreteness to my prayer. This is the main feature of walking a labyrinth in the first place, but it was even batter to make the way for future me and future loved ones to walk it, even the grandchildren of the labyrinth (my children) who mostly miss what I am doing as I journey to the center. One day, I pray they know the power that can be met person to person using this walking tool along with many others. Until that day, and for that future, and toward it in me and them, I'll walk it every time I'm here.

Tumbled Open Good Friday Prayer

It's Good Friday. I wrote us a poem that's also a prayer. Hope on a death day. Jesus was the first one, but now they are all that for those who are in Christ. One of Circle of Hope's blogs celebrates death days of those who have gone before -- Celebrating Our Transhistorical Body  . Today,Continue reading "Tumbled Open Good Friday Prayer"

Swallows Show — A Saturday Sonnet

Since the Covid 19 quarantine began, I have spent a lot of time sitting at a little desk I put in my bedroom (now office). My lovely little room has windows which face te lake on which I live.  Newton Lake in spring and summer  is home to a colony of tree swallows which dart across the water in the morning and evening in dizzying patterns.  They make me feel big inside. They "make the water wide" I say in the poem.

Alas – A Sonnet for the party we will have

Rainy Day Longing I sat down this morning and looked out my bedroom window to the rainy water of Newton Creek and wished with all the melancholy of the gray day to be rid of this virus. "Alas" was the word for the feeling. Almost all sigh with a hint of french pity in it'sContinue reading "Alas – A Sonnet for the party we will have"

Poolside – a love poem to many moments and a prayer

Poolside Heat baking upThrough terry cloth towel --Drying me up as the sun dried me down.And red-yellow dancersAmorphously movedBetween the backs of my eyelids and eyes.Seal slick hair,Tufting up in the airAs I turned back from fish into boy.Sometimes so hotIf I lay there too longI'd roll right back into the pool.It must be justContinue reading "Poolside – a love poem to many moments and a prayer"

Master, where are you staying?

If Unseen Man turning around on the street, What did you forget? Unaware I’m watching, You skip The show that lets us know You aren’t a lunatic. No finger to your temple, No shoulders shrugged, Or arms outstretched, No palm to the forehead, Or even an expression. You just turn around To get your keys,Continue reading "Master, where are you staying?"

Sleepwalkers – a Friday Sonnet

Sleepwalkers for George MacDonaldWhen darkness burns a hole in all our views,And knowledge-ash-curled edges seed dismay,Can we know anything we know we knew?Will you show us all and call this today?We see few truths with heartless, burned out eyes;Twice-seared with every disappointment first,And second by the fire's condemning lies.These leave us twice blind with nothingContinue reading "Sleepwalkers – a Friday Sonnet"

How do Yoga and Christianity Intersect?

I would liken the technique of yoga to the gold or silver or stone in Paul's speech, but not in a dismissive way (I don't think Paul is being dismissive either). I see yoga as an amazing means for personal well-being made by human design and skill. At its best it brings people very near to an understanding of themselves as people who are in God -- living and moving and having their beings. But the means of salvation which is Paul's proclamation, and, according to Paul, God's command, is that we need to repent -- turn around. I think among the plurality of yogis I know, this repentance is turning from trusting the technique that they can control to trusting the living God that gives them the breath that leads their focused movement.

Is Love Enough? A Poetic Meditation

Will the simplicity of loving my neighbor communicate everything I want to tell the world about Jesus? Will it communicate the same to me? It seems too small, and my particular love seems especially too small. Can love be enough? Jesus says so, but wondering never hurt. This is a bit of a ditty withContinue reading "Is Love Enough? A Poetic Meditation"