There are no jerks here….only human beings trying desperately to do the will of God and speak the truth.
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Christmas Message: Choose Wisely, Choose Love
Right after Thanksgiving, the Christmas music started on the radio (And of course, we’ve been hearing it in the stores and shopping malls since Halloween!). I waited and I waited, but I never heard my favorite Christmas song. The title is When Love Came Down. It was written in 1999 by a songwriter named Chris…
A Blind Beggar Teaches About Faith
How often does God pass by us in the world and we don’t know enough to call out? How often does healing, mercy, and compassion come close and we don’t think to ask for it? How often does the world try to discourage us, telling us to be quiet when we speak out in faith?…
The Tyranny of Perfection & the Gift of Bread
I’m not sure when it happened… but at some point in our modern lives, and I believe it was relatively recently, we became convinced that being perfect, without mistakes or flaws, was achievable and even necessary. Perhaps, the tyranny of perfection was begun when we created the digital technology to touch up the photographs shown…
When Your Brain Lies to You…
The human brain is miraculous and complex. The way our brains work allows us to be creative, innovative, collaborative, empathetic, humorous, and intelligent. The mind of the artist captures the beauty of the world in new and profound ways. The brain of the storyteller captures the human experience with all of its profundity in…
The Plumb Line of God: Moving Beyond Politics & Scandal to Holiness
I don’t know if I’ve ever shared the story of how I came to be an alternate deputy to 78th General Convention of the Episcopal Church. The Deputation is elected very three years—a panel of four ordained people and four lay people to act as deputies and another eight (four each ordained and lay) to…
Sacred Voices, Holy Tears
When I was elected as an alternate deputy to the 78th General Convention of the Episcopal Church, no one warned me about the tears. Who would think that the business of the church would make me cry every day, and sometimes more often? These are not the terrible tears caused by being irrevocably wounded or…
The Both/And of Addressing Homelessness
I saw something new to me here in Salt Lake City: Bright red parking meters scattered across the sidewalks, positioned well away from their normal curbside location. These parking meters accept nickels, dimes, and quarters—and each has a sign “Give a hand up, not a hand out.” It’s really an innovative idea. The coins tossed…
The Megachurch Experience of the Episcopal General Convention
If I didn’t know where the opening Eucharist of the 78th General Convention of the Episcopal Church was being held, it would not have mattered very much. A stream of people headed in a single direction–pointing toward the huge convention hall that had been appointed with 2,000 or so chairs, giant and colorful banners depicting…
The Big World & Small Town of the Episcopal General Convention
The first day of my very first General Convention of the Episcopal Church felt a little bit like the first day at a new school. I worried that I wasn’t dressed right, that I would get lost, that I wouldn’t find my meetings, that I wouldn’t have anything intelligent to add to the conversation, and,…
Scattered Revelations 