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"Happy Fourth of July! I hope you celebrated in a safe and distant way yesterday, if you did celebrate. There were lots of fireworks in our neighborhood last night, but it seemed a bit calmer and less loud than previous years, which was a welcome change. As you probably heard, especially if you were planning […]
Read more "Then and Now"Sitting here this morning, just now, what’s the truest thing you know? Maybe it’s something basic, like “Life is good.” Or perhaps it’s something that helps you keep a hopeful view, like, “There’s always something to be grateful for.” Or maybe you fall back on one of our foundational Quaker ideas: “There is that of […]
Read more "Moment of Truth"Happy Father’s Day! I hope that whether you are a father or you have a father, you enjoy this day set aside to celebrate the ones in our lives who love, help, protect, and provide for us. We honor all who have been loving fatherly examples for us and acknowledge the richness and importance of […]
Read more "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms"Don’t you find it fascinating that all the peonies blossomed on Memorial Day weekend? Not just the peonies in my yard, not just some peonies, but literally all the peony bushes I saw from Shelby to Hancock to Marion to Hamilton counties, bursting out in giant blossoms of pink, white, and red. Doesn’t it make […]
Read more "Many and One"Last Sunday before worship, a group of us were continuing our study of the book of Matthew. And I have to admit, I can’t believe how long it is taking us to get through this one book of the bible. I think we started just after the first of the year—in 2018!—and we have been […]
Read more "Life as Parable"I don’t know whether you’ve noticed this where you live, but at my house, the flower beds—which actually have very few intentionally planted flowers in them at the moment—and bushes and grass are all growing like crazy. Every time I turn around, it’s time to mow or weed again. The rainy spring and the hot […]
Read more "The Blessed Community"The walk to Emmaus is one of my favorite New Testament stories. It contains everything a good story needs: heartbreak, challenge, effort, confusion, struggle—and ultimately, a big reveal and a happy ending. We learn from this story that there is good—that God is still working—even when it feels like all is lost. We’re reminded that […]
Read more "On the Road Again"It’s a curious thing about human nature that our daily experiences—our hunger, our thirst for life—seems to be heightened after we’ve gone through a time of trial. Maybe after a period of what feels like darkness, we’re more aware somehow of the shining of the light: After a long, gray winter, the colors of spring […]
Read more "Time & Treasure"On a scale of 1 to 10, how good would you say you are at forgiveness? Is it easy to let the frustration roll off when someone cuts you off in traffic? What about when a friend makes an insensitive comment? Or a stranger is rude for no reason? Little things like that don’t cause […]
Read more "At Home in the Heart"
The Space between the Words 