The book was on the shelf; I'd received it as an ordination gift. Never read it--just sat there, until a colleague used it for an opening meditation at a recent meeting. Later, after a long week, I took the book from the shelf and thumbed my way through--finally resting on and savoring on a meditation/poem. The book is called Prisms of the Soul: Writings from a Sisterhood of Faith, edited by Marcy Darin. I believe it is out of print now (1996); but worth the trouble to find a used copy.
It was the poem by Patricia Flower Vermillion that caught my eye; in her poem "Learning to Make Easter Bread" I caught a glimpse of the woman I aspire to be. A line in her poem struck me deeply,
I don't understand
this old woman who listens
to Puccini, wears black stockings
and aprons, covers her head
with cotton scarves
tied at the nape of her neck.
The woman signs herself before risen dough and braids three strands into one. And the poet says she dances! She dances (does she also have a tambourine--remember Miriam!)
How many years will it take
how many do I have,
to learn to sing Puccini
and to dance, to dance?
Thank you, Patricia Flower Vermillion! I hope to wear black stockings and aprons and cover my head with cotton scarves (as I explore headcovering), and yes . . . I hope to dance--and learn more about Puccini as I journey with Jesus!
The Barn at the Homestead
Friday, January 17, 2014
Sunday, December 29, 2013
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Domestic LIfe
The latest issue of "The Christian Century" magazine published a cartoon that is a part of the New Yorker Collection (which can also be seen at www.cartoonbank.com) that caused me to reflect on my life. The cartoon is a depiction of the sacrifice of Isaac. Abraham is holding the knife and with outstretched arms looking up to the heavens he says, "Must I sacrifice family for career?" It's a good question to ask for all of us, but especially for those of us in ordained ministry. And maybe more for women than men, but I know some male colleagues who also wrestle with this issue.
I recall several years ago listening to a female rabbi sharing her story, although I can no longer recall her name. She talked about being at the Synagogue celebrating a holy day when she longed to be with her family--who was celebrating at home. It is a dilemma.
The Domestic Life is still very important to me. I find myself longing for simplicity; finding joy at home through many traditional things make a house a home. How to combine the priestly lifestyle with the longing for simplicity? Perhaps you are asking these same questions.
So, I'm creating a wish list--to help revive the Domestic Arts in my own life--a way to slow down and be with my family a little more often. My wish list includes:
Dairy Goats
Chickens
Gardening
Sewing
Building a back yard labyrinth
and time to sit in the porch swing with my beloved.
And time to also think about the Domestic Church (that's the subject for another time).
Create your own wish list. And remember, as Dorothy of the Wizard of Oz said, there's no place like home.
I recall several years ago listening to a female rabbi sharing her story, although I can no longer recall her name. She talked about being at the Synagogue celebrating a holy day when she longed to be with her family--who was celebrating at home. It is a dilemma.
The Domestic Life is still very important to me. I find myself longing for simplicity; finding joy at home through many traditional things make a house a home. How to combine the priestly lifestyle with the longing for simplicity? Perhaps you are asking these same questions.
So, I'm creating a wish list--to help revive the Domestic Arts in my own life--a way to slow down and be with my family a little more often. My wish list includes:
Dairy Goats
Chickens
Gardening
Sewing
Building a back yard labyrinth
and time to sit in the porch swing with my beloved.
And time to also think about the Domestic Church (that's the subject for another time).
Create your own wish list. And remember, as Dorothy of the Wizard of Oz said, there's no place like home.
Saturday, September 14, 2013
Welcoming
I've been reflecting on what it is to be a welcoming community. Many churches today speak of being welcoming, of hospitality. What does it mean to be such a community?
A couple of weeks ago as I was making a pastoral call at our local hospital, I happened to have the radio on to NPR, and heard a piece that captured my attention. It was on "Cowboy Church." You may want to listen, too: http://www.npr.org/2013/09/01/217268202/cowboy-church-with-rodeo-arena-they-do-church-different
That same week, I received notice of an article posted by the Episcopal News Service (ENS) regarding biker/motorcycle blessings. It may be found here:
http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2013/08/28/born-to-be-bikers-motorcycle-ministries-reach-out-to-under-served/
I was interviewed via telephone for this article because in one of my previous parishes, I celebrated a biker mass and blessings.
At another one of my parishes, I wanted to extend hospitality by hosting a monthly Tea and calling the program HospitalTEA. Each month the menu would vary according to the season. Monies raised would be donated to welcoming ministries. It remains just a dream, still, but perhaps something for my future
I've often heard it said that God loves you just they way you are, but refuses to leave you that way. As I ponder welcoming and hospitality, I also reflect on a God that bids us come . . .
"Just as I am, without one plea...
O lamb of God, I come, I come."
Welcoming gives way to surrender; surrender to transformation.
How does your community welcome--and whom do they welcome? What are your hospitality ministries?
A couple of weeks ago as I was making a pastoral call at our local hospital, I happened to have the radio on to NPR, and heard a piece that captured my attention. It was on "Cowboy Church." You may want to listen, too: http://www.npr.org/2013/09/01/217268202/cowboy-church-with-rodeo-arena-they-do-church-different
That same week, I received notice of an article posted by the Episcopal News Service (ENS) regarding biker/motorcycle blessings. It may be found here:
http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2013/08/28/born-to-be-bikers-motorcycle-ministries-reach-out-to-under-served/
I was interviewed via telephone for this article because in one of my previous parishes, I celebrated a biker mass and blessings.
At another one of my parishes, I wanted to extend hospitality by hosting a monthly Tea and calling the program HospitalTEA. Each month the menu would vary according to the season. Monies raised would be donated to welcoming ministries. It remains just a dream, still, but perhaps something for my future
I've often heard it said that God loves you just they way you are, but refuses to leave you that way. As I ponder welcoming and hospitality, I also reflect on a God that bids us come . . .
"Just as I am, without one plea...
O lamb of God, I come, I come."
Welcoming gives way to surrender; surrender to transformation.
How does your community welcome--and whom do they welcome? What are your hospitality ministries?
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Mama don't let your boys grow up to be professional football players
I live in a town where football reigns! The fall start up of our local university brings with it many fans for the "home team." Parking, already a premium in our area, becomes nearly impossible during home football games, and I have a reserved parking place! I find it particularly annoying that on Sunday mornings I often have to have a car towed from my reserved space in a parking lot that is designated as Church Parking.
Football is something I've grown up with; each of my brothers play on our High School Team (at different times due to their ages), and my family enjoyed watching games together on TV and the occasional treat of being in the local stadium. But more and more, I have noticed that professional sports seem to have taken on a new dimension! Of course, I view this with the lens of an Episcopal priest--so there is a bias in my comments. I've joked a few times about "the other god"--the one who is worshiped from the stands. How I'd love to see folks flock to church like that on Sunday morning.
Then, today comes a story on NPR that I found particularly disturbing: http://www.npr.org/2013/07/10/200402513/football-needs-a-guardian-not-a-ceo
"Football needs a Guardian, not a CEO." According to this piece, since the Superbowl earlier this year, 29 professional football players have been arrested. This saddens the heart.
I think I'm giving up football for the future. It's time we stop glorifying these so called "superstars!" I'm not seeing them as very good roll models for our young people. Sports can teach young people many good skills, but we really need some better examples. There are some really great players out there I know--and we need to hear more stories about them. It's too bad that 29 of them give them a bad rap.
Sundays will find me in church, worshiping God. The only pigskin I might remotely get close to is a bag of fried pork skins on my low carb diet! :) If you have a son or a daughter considering professional sports, help them think through this. Can we salvage sports, or are we just in for more of the same?
Then of course, there are always goats ...
Football is something I've grown up with; each of my brothers play on our High School Team (at different times due to their ages), and my family enjoyed watching games together on TV and the occasional treat of being in the local stadium. But more and more, I have noticed that professional sports seem to have taken on a new dimension! Of course, I view this with the lens of an Episcopal priest--so there is a bias in my comments. I've joked a few times about "the other god"--the one who is worshiped from the stands. How I'd love to see folks flock to church like that on Sunday morning.
Then, today comes a story on NPR that I found particularly disturbing: http://www.npr.org/2013/07/10/200402513/football-needs-a-guardian-not-a-ceo
"Football needs a Guardian, not a CEO." According to this piece, since the Superbowl earlier this year, 29 professional football players have been arrested. This saddens the heart.
I think I'm giving up football for the future. It's time we stop glorifying these so called "superstars!" I'm not seeing them as very good roll models for our young people. Sports can teach young people many good skills, but we really need some better examples. There are some really great players out there I know--and we need to hear more stories about them. It's too bad that 29 of them give them a bad rap.
Sundays will find me in church, worshiping God. The only pigskin I might remotely get close to is a bag of fried pork skins on my low carb diet! :) If you have a son or a daughter considering professional sports, help them think through this. Can we salvage sports, or are we just in for more of the same?
Then of course, there are always goats ...
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Julian of Norwich
Here is a good read on Julian of Norwich; today is her feast day, which explains why I've wanted hazelnuts all day! :)
http://jerichosdaughter.blogspot.com/
http://jerichosdaughter.blogspot.com/
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Amish Reading
In the latest issue of "The Christian Century" I was surprised and delighted to see Valarie Weaver-Zercher's article "Chaste romance." The premise of her article is about Amish fiction and its rise in popularity over the past several years. Surprised, because it caught me off guard--seems as if the Amish are every where. Delighted because I think it speaks to a hunger in American life.
Weaver-Zercher's new book Thrill of the Chaste: The Allure of Amish Romance Novels, has recently been published by the Johns Hopkins University Press. She spent a great deal of time and study researching the popularity of the rise of Amish romance. I hope to read her book in the future.
I discovered the author Beverly Lewis while in seminary. She is one of the more popular authors and has written a number of books over the years. ( You can read about her at http://www.beverlylewis.com.) Personally, the reading was pure escapism; my brain could only hold so much theology! It was intriguing to read about the Amish--the simplicity of their lives embedded in "romance" stories. While it provided entertainment and reading that was quite different from my theological studies, I do admit that it also opened up new avenues in my life.
To be fair, I've also read a book or two by Julia Spencer-Fleming (my favorite was In the Bleak Midwinter) and the exciting life of her main character, the Rev. Clare Fergusson ( and yes, she did serve a St. Alban's just like me!) But I've returned again and again to Lewis' books because there is a hunger deep within, not so much for the romance, but a simplicity of life and a place where one can find something that doesn't involve violence. Yes, peacefulness is desired. With the rise in popularity of reality TV programming (I'm not a TV fan), there is still something to be said for ficition.
While the books provide entertainment, they have led me to an exploration of Anabaptism, along with my Anglican/Episcopal roots. Anabaptists are as diverse as any other Christian group; but I find the commitment to peace and justice issues very compelling--they are a gentle people. Presently I am slowly reading John Howard Yoder's The Politics of Jesus. This is no Amish romance book. I am finding Yoder's book a challenge at many levels. I'm not sure that I would have stumbled across this book if I had not first been exposed to authors like Beverly Lewis.
Happy reading!
Weaver-Zercher's new book Thrill of the Chaste: The Allure of Amish Romance Novels, has recently been published by the Johns Hopkins University Press. She spent a great deal of time and study researching the popularity of the rise of Amish romance. I hope to read her book in the future.
I discovered the author Beverly Lewis while in seminary. She is one of the more popular authors and has written a number of books over the years. ( You can read about her at http://www.beverlylewis.com.) Personally, the reading was pure escapism; my brain could only hold so much theology! It was intriguing to read about the Amish--the simplicity of their lives embedded in "romance" stories. While it provided entertainment and reading that was quite different from my theological studies, I do admit that it also opened up new avenues in my life.
To be fair, I've also read a book or two by Julia Spencer-Fleming (my favorite was In the Bleak Midwinter) and the exciting life of her main character, the Rev. Clare Fergusson ( and yes, she did serve a St. Alban's just like me!) But I've returned again and again to Lewis' books because there is a hunger deep within, not so much for the romance, but a simplicity of life and a place where one can find something that doesn't involve violence. Yes, peacefulness is desired. With the rise in popularity of reality TV programming (I'm not a TV fan), there is still something to be said for ficition.
While the books provide entertainment, they have led me to an exploration of Anabaptism, along with my Anglican/Episcopal roots. Anabaptists are as diverse as any other Christian group; but I find the commitment to peace and justice issues very compelling--they are a gentle people. Presently I am slowly reading John Howard Yoder's The Politics of Jesus. This is no Amish romance book. I am finding Yoder's book a challenge at many levels. I'm not sure that I would have stumbled across this book if I had not first been exposed to authors like Beverly Lewis.
Happy reading!
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