Depth Lights Our Hearts on Fire
I am a member of a liturgical church. When we get together we remind ourselves of our shared story, and we share a meal. We surround ourselves with signs and symbols that help us remember who we are. We have banners and paintings, pictures in stained glass, music, kneeling and the sign of the cross, ...
Listening for the Depth
I listen for the Depth. I listen alone, or with another person, or with other people. Depth is all around us, but we get distracted and forget. We get caught up in meeting a goal, or in a delicious taste, or in watching a movie. Our attention is attracted to a bit of trivia, or ...
Celebrating Lent
I am part of a church that follows a liturgical calendar. Like all calendars, a liturgical calendar helps us remember the day and the season. On Wednesday we begin a new season again. Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent. Each time we get together we remind each other of our story and we share a ...
4:13 PM Pacific Time
Someone asked a question about reflection on one of the retreats I facilitated recently. I try to give people on a retreat a taste of what it is like to visit a monastery. My schedule and structure are as relaxed as they can be. A retreat is an opportunity to pause, to breathe deeply, to ...
Passing the Peace
I belong to a liturgical church. Each week, we remind ourselves of the story that brings us together, and we share a meal. In the middle of the orderly, predictable time we spend together each week, a burst of pandemonium breaks out. It is sparked, ironically, when one person says, The peace of God is always ...
Waking Up to the Sacred
Our lives are filled with things that attract our attention. There are things we want, things we need, and the ways we intend to get them. Our minds generate ideas and plans of action. Thoughts and emotions, songs and voices, images and sensations, tastes and aromas flood our lives. Memories of people and places, joys ...
Primal Connection
The world is primal. We work hard to make ourselves comfortable with technology and possessions. We accomplish amazing achievements. The world remains primal and elemental despite all our efforts. Light and dark. Heat and cold. Earth, wind, and water. Fire and ice. Love and hatred. Joy and pain. Life and death. We shield ourselves from ...
Guest Post: Community & Liturgy
Tripp Hudgins is a friend of mine who I have never met in person, which is a little surprising because we are on similar paths. We have each lived in Virginia, Illinois, and now in California, though I have also lived in Wisconsin. Our paths also incorporate being both Baptist and Episcopalian. As you can ...
On the Horizon
It is sometimes a challenge for me to remember the horizon. I tend to become focused on what is in front of me. My attention gets absorbed in the immediate decision we are trying to make, the specific question we are trying to answer, the person facing me who wants my help. When I walk, ...
Listening to Silence
Each summer, at the end of August, I spend some time at New Camaldoli Hermitage and Monastery in Big Sur, California. I am there this week, listening to silence. New Camaldoli has become a second home to me. I am a lay person who has been received into the community, known as a lay oblate. ...
