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Monthly Archives: September 2009
I Rest Me In the Thought
This is my Father’s world: I rest me in the thought of rocks and trees, of skies and seas; his hand the wonders wrought. I like the abstract pattern in this picture, taken in the woods at Heritage Park. The … Continue reading
Posted in Nature, Theology
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All the Presbylanguage
Sunday we went to the First Presbyterian Church for an installation of their new co-pastors, a clergy couple from Indiana. A representative from the presbytery preached in a Geneva robe with white tabs, very Reformed. At the end of the service … Continue reading
Posted in Language, Ministry
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Migrant
A half dozen men stood outside the store, migrant workers with brown hair, dusty jeans and callused hands. My ears caught bits of Spanish as I walked by them. A gulf separates their world from mine, but for a few … Continue reading
Posted in Daily Life
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To Write By Hand Or By Keyboard
Umberto Eco laments the lost art of handwriting. Among its many benefits, writing by hand obliges us to compose the phrase mentally before writing it down. Thanks to the resistance of pen and paper, it does make one slow down … Continue reading
The Poverty of Protestant Art
Monday night we attended an ecumenical peace service at St. Joseph Catholic Church on Ormsby Street. Inter-faith services don’t appeal to me. I’m the child who doesn’t want foods on the dinner plate to touch one another, let alone mix … Continue reading
Posted in Art
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What Was the Best Part of Your Day?
My wife and I have ritual things we say to one another throughout the day. In the morning as I leave for work, I kiss her and say, “I love you. Think about me twice today.” Not too much or … Continue reading
Luminous Darkness
D. H. Williams, a patristics professor at Baylor University, draws guidance from the spirituality of St. Gregory of Nyssa. The key is mystery — specifically how we can know God, whose being is unknowable to us. The path involves a … Continue reading
A Touch of Hospitality
I visited a woman who will die soon. She lay asleep in her nursing home bed, a plastic mat on the floor in case she fell. A black and white photo of her as a young woman hung on the … Continue reading
Come In From the Cold
Our local Salvation Army hosts Share the Warmth, a homeless shelter during the coldest months, beginning this year on November 1st. Forty folks gathered last night for an informational dinner. Trays of ham and macaroni and cheese sat on the … Continue reading
Experiments In Silence
The benefits of being silent are often seen in the fruit it bears rather than in the experience of silence per se. Adele Ahlberg Calhoun I need more silence in my life. To this end, I’m experimenting with silence in … Continue reading
When a Lie Is OK
In ScienceNews, Bruce Bower summarizes current research on the moral development of children. Recent studies indicate in learning good behavior children would rather parents reason with them than shame them. At the end of the article, he offers observations on … Continue reading
Why Do Men Wear Ties?
The prime minister of Bangladesh has banned men’s suits and neckties in government offices. The country suffers from a serious energy shortage — power companies cannot keep up with demand. The changes in dress will allow for less air-conditioning in … Continue reading
I Almost Walked Across the Mackinac Bridge
A small group from Adrian walked five miles across the Mackinac Bridge this morning. The yearly bridge walk draws up to fifty thousand participants. I was supposed to join them, but events pulled me home a day early. So I … Continue reading
The Spirituality of Trees
A tall oak tree stands east of fellowship hall. On many afternoons I park my little white car in its shade. Sometimes I stand next to the trunk, under the long limbs, and trace the ridges of the bark with … Continue reading
Who Gets a Christian Burial?
I performed a funeral Tuesday for a man with no church affiliation. I met with his family Monday before the visitation. In their stories he appeared a latter-day version of the Good Samaritan, a man always ready to help others. … Continue reading
Silence Comes Easy to Me
Yesterday in Morenci I anointed a dying woman and recited the 23rd Psalm to her. Thou anointest my head with oil. I flipped her wall calendar from August to September — the new picture shows the US Capitol dome. Time … Continue reading
Life In a Tent
The poor economy has forced people in Tennessee to move into tents. At a time of downscaled dreams, it’s a harbinger of how closely many Americans are walking the knife-edge between a roof and a tent flap. But for many, … Continue reading
Posted in Daily Life
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