Neglected Beauty

Normally, by this time of the year I have spent HOURS in my garden beds. Weeding. Mulching. Trimming. They have become us much a part of spring as getting the deck furniture out, having the first drink on it and the first bonfire of the season. This year, between horrible spring weather and a heavier…

Scattering Seeds

Father’s Day… Aboriginal Sunday… Dedication of a new stained glass window… communion… Weather that is providing a challenge to local farmers… children being torn from their parents at the US border… officials using the Bible as justification! A passage from the gospel of Mark likening the realm of God to a mustard seed… What’s a…

Naked and Afraid

  Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a Biblical image when you google ‘naked and afraid?’ And I know that some of you shook your heads if you say the sign before it was changed to highlight Marita’s funeral. But naked and afraid is Biblical! It’s not often that I…

Named – Not Named

You don’t hear much about me after I won the election to become one of the chosen 12! I was so proud… me, one of the apostles! Even though it was only by chance, by tossing dice that I won, that didn’t diminish my pride. I was one of hundreds of men and women who…

Schrödinger’s Camera Card

A colleague who expressed appreciation for my nature photography asked me if I ever did family photos. She and her husband, their adult children, one partner, along with two dogs, were all going to be in the same place, at the same time and she wanted a family photo. I told her no, that I…

Memories

I attended the Atlantic School of Theology’s Convocation today. It’s been 14 years since I was one of those eager graduates, just waiting to take on ministry in a new way and the first time I have attended one since then. I was surprisingly moved at the pomp and ceremony and the glow of excitement…

Cluttered, Clearing, Connected

The possibility of peace between North and South Korea… the conviction of Bill Cosby… 10 people, mainly women, mowed down and killed by a driver… many more injured… a calm police officer… the death of a Edna DeMann’s brother… a fundraising dinner… a Conference Executive meeting… All of these played on my heart and mind…

Whose Voice Do We Listen To?

What sounds in the natural world capture our attention? The peepers in spring? Waves, murmuring or roaring? Children let out of school? What music/news/podcasts do we listen to? Does the music of your teen years instantly bring you back to a dance in a gym? What makes us pay attention? What captures our interest? What…