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Who Are You? Who Are You Becoming?
Years ago, when I first started working as a pastor in churches, I asked new people that I met what they did for a living. The question seemed less intrusive than what I considered a more personal question like whether they were married or if they had children. Also, because I was single, I didn’t…
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Mindful of Justice – Lent 2020
To be mindful means to remember to let go of compulsive reactivity and realize a nonreactive way of life. ~Stephen Batchelor, “The Art of Solitude” Today is Mardi Gras and I still haven’t decided what my Lenten practice will be. I live alone with my dog so there is plenty of solitude for me. What…
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Joy in the Morning – A Valentine to Myself
“It is a serious thing just to be alive on this fresh morning in this broken world.” ~Mary Oliver I rise early on this rainy morning, excited about the book I’m editing, excited about the essay I’m writing. There is joy in the morning. This often happens for me as a morning person. Classical piano…
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First Volume of Praying Together: An Ecumenical Prayer Journal
Announcing the first prayer journal in a new series called Praying Together. The daily prayers are adapted from the Book of Common Prayer (BCP) of the Episcopal Church of American and the Lutheran Book of Worship (LBW) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. Volume 1 uses Psalms and John as part of the daily…
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A Letter to Steven about Vocation
December 16, 2019 Dear Steven, Walking into the quiet winter morning, the red-pink in the East draws my eye to the rising sun. The sky is blue-gray and purple clouds are painted across the Northern sky. The West is behind Beech Mountain, although my residence is considered on the “backside” of the mountain. Birdie and…