The wonderful ordinariness of congregational life
Sometimes it’s boring. Sometimes it’s thrilling. Sometimes it makes me cry.
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Episode 5: Exploring Egypt with Yehia El Decken
I keep secret in myself an Egypt
That doesn’t exist.
Is that good or bad? I don’t know. –Rumi
This is my blood, donated for you
When my arm is stretched out and blood is trickling out of me, I find myself thinking of Jesus.
April 17 Easter Day C John 20 1 18
One of my favorite things about living in Southern California was driving down the Redondo Beach Esplanade on a clear morning. I loved seeing the impossibly blue ocean and the pure white spray of the breakers. I marveled at the curve of the land, how the Santa Monica Mountains and the Palos Verdes Peninsula stretched to embrace across the Santa Monica Bay.
Bleeding in the pulpit
The Sunday I decided to tell the truth about my miscarriage.
A path back together through reading contemplative classics
My students and I are finding our way into the world again with Evagrius, Teresa of Ávila, and Howard Thurman.
Episode 4: Saying yes to the search with Karen Johnson
“I love this process of searching because oftentimes, we end up finding what we’re looking for but not in the way that we imagined when we started the process—not how we originally thought we would find God.”
American GIs and the chaplains who served them
Kurt Piehler reconstructs the lived religious experience of the World War II battlefield.
My spouse is also my pastor
During the pandemic, I’ve realized how much I rely on her as a proxy for my faith.
Episode 3: Finding nourishment with Gary Nabhan
“We have learned to accept diversity in the many peoples around us by falling in love with their foods… that’s why I’m optimistic.”