Spirituality. Politics. Music. Life.
This week, the General Conference of the United Methodist Church will begin in Charlotte, North Carolina. This will be the first “regular” General Conference since 2016. I thought I would put down a few thoughts ahead of this potentially momentous week for the new United Methodist Church. These will be a combination of personal reflections […]
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Frederick Buechner once described “Prayer” in a way that leaps to my mind this week, in these days after our communal experience of the Eclipse. Buechner wrote: “We all pray whether we think of it as praying or not. The odd silence we fall into when something very beautiful is happening, or something very good […]
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These days after a solar eclipse are probably a good time to remind ourselves of this extended quote from St. Augustine of Hippo.(picture taken by me during “totality”) St. Augustine was a wordy writer, so I’ve edited it down a bit…and it still runs long. But it’s an important word for all of us who […]
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Increasingly, I am convinced the opposite of “faith” is not “doubt,” but “fear.” This is because the deepest level of “faith” is not “belief,” but “trust;” and the opposite of “trust/faith” is “fear/anxiety.” Instead of faith’s opposite, doubt is a part of the journey of faith. Skepticism is, or should be, embraced as how we […]
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Dallas awakes to snow and ice, and flurries continuing to fall as I write, and I’m here to update you again about our ministry helpful our houseless neighbors. Yesterday, it seems to me, was one of those both beautiful and heartbreaking days…especially if you’re going to serve others. We started with our primary mission (IMHO) […]
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The Sunday before Advent starts, we actually get a pretty good reminder of the power of Incarnational Seeing. Incarnational seeing is my language for what others call the spiritual practice of “paying attention.” There is a lot of buzz in the culture right now around the concept of “mindfulness” as a tool for reducing stress […]
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Why are we not asking about the “grooming,” —the disturbing messages of sexually gendered roles— these shows reinforce for humans of all orientations….for little girls, for little boys, for mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters?
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I’m simultaneously deeply annoyed and deeply saddened by the vast number of Bot-led catfishing proposals I get these days via social media. It started out as just annoyance. And then, as a way of dealing with that annoyance, I decided to save a week’s worth…not to read them…just “screen shot and save”…then come back later. […]
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It’s now Monday, and to my amazement, my hastily dashed-off post “Good Friday” —about the original meaning of the crucifixion in Jesus’ time— continues to be shared at a stunning pace.It’s now approaching 3,000 Facebook shares, and thousands of remarkable and kind comments. My best guess is: it’s still being shared around 100 times an […]
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“Um…so what’s that interesting necklace you’re wearing?” I am at the Kerrville Folk Festival, on a sweaty May afternoon. I’m with a group of fellow musicians, and one has again asked me a question I’ve been asked many times before. She’s asking about the necklace I wear every day. “It’s a ‘Lethal Injection Crucifix,’” I […]
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