Two weeks ago, on a Thursday evening, I did something I’ve never done before; something I’ve always wanted to do. I went to my first pottery class. I wasn’t sure what to expect and I was prepared to look and feel a little silly, because I was a complete beginner. I didn’t know how to […]
Read more "Made of Clay"Over the last decade or so, I’ve gotten fairly used to the idea that some people are glad to see the chaplain coming and some aren’t. Sometimes I show up on the scene and people look at me with a combination of fear and horror, as though my arrival means things are worse than they […]
Read more "The Rest of the Story"Yesterday morning early, Janice sent me two pictures of the back of the church, where the spring flowers are in bloom. It was such a hopeful start to the day! The hyacinths, the daffodils, they are just doing what they do, on their own natural timeframe, blooming into beauty in their own natural time, […]
Read more "Spring Anyway"Can you remember the New Year’s resolutions you made at the start of the new year? No? Me neither. What I do remember is that things were going along normally. Life for me was a regular pattern of work and rest; days spent at hospice, afternoon walk with Gloria on sunny days, and preparing […]
Read more "Interrupted by Grace"When is the last time you were really curious about something? And what were you curious about? It may happen more often than you realize. Maybe you wanted to know what the weather would be like for the weekend. Or you wondered what your friends were posting on social media. Or you wanted to know […]
Read more "Holy Curiosity"Sometimes in my work as a hospice chaplain, I feel like I’m a citizen of two worlds. In the here-and-how, I’m supporting patients and families in whatever way seems to fit the needs of the moment best: just being there, listening, caring, exploring questions, reading scripture, getting coffee, holding hands, offering prayer. But I am […]
Read more "Lessons from Eternity"Yesterday morning I took my car in to be serviced, hoping for an inexpensive fix to the “check engine” light that had been gleaming at me from the dash for the last three weeks. There weren’t many people at the dealership for a Saturday, perhaps because of the pouring rain. It had started raining the […]
Read more "Sabbath Rest"Well, Friends, unfortunately the light-hearted, easy message I had planned for us today (and already half finished) has been pre-empted by something else that felt more important to say this morning. If you’ve been following the news this week, you’re aware of the rising tensions and military action that resulted in the death of an […]
Read more "A Call for Prayer"Preparing this message for you this week I felt a bit like one of the magi, following the star, up and down and all around as my curiosity led me first from one idea to another and then another. The initial inspiration came from a quote I read in the book, The Work of Christmas: […]
Read more "The Wonder of It All"For many of us here today, this quiet, peaceful morning time may represent the calm before the storm that will start soon—if it hasn’t started already–as we begin the cooking and preparing and wrapping and visiting that has become so much a part of Christmas. This time of year, our traditions are very important, steeped […]
Read more "Calm and Bright"
The Space between the Words 