-
On Shame and Self-Regard
I was fourteen when I started attending church regularly, and when I did, I was immediately drawn to the ritual and repetition of the traditional presbyterian service down the street. I loved that I, an awkward teenager with absolutely zero familiarity with whatever “church culture” was, could follow along, and even participate fully. There were…
-
Translating for this Sunday’s Lectionary: Radical Community and Hospitality
Luke 14:1, 7-14 And it came to pass that Jesus was going to the house of one of the leaders of the Pharisees on the sabbath to break bread, and they all were watching him closely. He began to tell a parable to those who had been invited, remarking how they were choosing the best…
-
More Than Could Be Counted
Every year, in wintertide, I pore over seed books as I dream of a garden a child could ruin herself for dinner in. When the time is right, I tuck precious seeds in good earth and wait and watch for these yearnings to push themselves out of the dark soil, take on leaf and spread…
-
Love is as Strong as Death
These last few weeks have been rough for me in my professional life as we have mourned untimely deaths to overdose. Some thoughts.
-
When We Gather Together
The crows are at it again. A murder screaming in the treetops pulls the whole neighborhood into their business as they rage after a remorseful kestrel for whom no sanctuary is coming. And all I can think is what power in numbers, what freedom and ferocity in banding together to take back the skies.
-
Deep Unto Deep
Beneath the becalmed ocean surface of my body currents roil. There is nowhere to hide from this crushing undertow– It grabs hold of me, pulling me deeper until I fear that I will be lost. I remember looking out over the waves in Santa Cruz, my feet kissed by the vestiges of stones and shells…
-
On Waking…
A cornucopia of insects is thrumming outside my window right now. It is 5 am, and I am (again) awake (earlier than I expected). Sleep has been…elusive lately…. or rather, the ability to sleep beyond 6 hours or so. I cannot control this impulse to wake in the wee hours, only ride the wave (and…
-
Humaning
When the shadows lengthen, and the evening falls, and the busy world is hushed; when the gaps between the tree boughs outside my window sing out God’s praise in technicolor; when the birdsong gathers into conspiratorial whispers deep within the hedgerow; whilst the chipmunks steel themselves silently against the stones and burls, and the cicadas…
-
Burn
It’s better to marry than to burn, wrote Paul But what the hell was he on about? Desire smolders within me and I cannot put it out, nor contain it, nor stop it in its course. Fire refines, said the Psalmist, but at this point I’m more concerned with whether it will take the whole…
-
But what is God like?
Often, when I am reading sacred text, I find myself wondering: what does God *actually* sound like? As in, if I had been *there* at *that moment* what would I have heard? This is especially true for me when it comes to the prophets, because they are so often tasked with unenviable task of mediating…
-
Subscribe
Subscribed
Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
Deeper in me than I 