Big people: please consider asking a bilingual friend(s) to help with this lesson.] Hi everyone. Thank you for clicking on this option to hear a lesson. We miss you at church and we can’t wait until we can all be back together again in church. Do any of you speak two languages? What a wonderful…
The scriptures you read today are about the story of the Ascension in the Book of Acts. The lectionary places today’s gospel, John 17:1-11 – Jesus’ prayer concerning unity – at the end of the Easter season; but in John’s gospel the prayer for unity among His followers occurs at the end of the last supper, so that…
By the time Memorial Day arrives most years, many of us would be plotting our summer getaways, if not already leaving on one. We’d be dreaming of adventure and/or beautiful destinations. This year, with apologies to Dr. Seuss: Oh, The Places You Won’t Go! This year, adventures may be on hold, but places of great beauty are…
Anger is a perfectly acceptable response to a pandemic. I am angry. Are you angry? It’s perfectly okay if your answer is yes. We’re angry with the virus. Angry with this not-even-living-thing. Angry about what we cannot even see and cannot control. We’re angry about the loss of human warmth and connection. We’re angry about…
I am not a music maker just a music lover. I do love making a joyful noise and I so miss singing in church. I miss the vibrations in the wooden floor as Ryan powers up the organ. I miss the harmonies sung by the choir, the ringing of bells and the cantor’s clear soprano…
I have a pretty shameful memory from when I was back in the 4th Grade. We were taking a spelling test, and I think this was the first year we had begun to check each other’s work. After taking the test, I passed mine to the student in the desk behind me, and got the test…
1963. Open my wardrobe and what do you see? Smocked dress and white puffy blouse. Catholic school uniform and Peter Pan collars. Mary Janes and Keds. 1973. Open my wardrobe and what do you see? Peasant dress and army jacket. Bellbottoms and macramé belts. High School blazer and saddle shoes. 1983. Open my wardrobe and what…
I’ll admit to enjoying a lot about being quarantined: sleeping in, pajamas all day, unstructured hours, long, lazy conversations with my family on the front porch or at the fire pit. But, in the background, I can still sense the constant bell tolling for fellow Americans fighting to breathe, suffering and dying from COVID-19. At…
I’ve tried to use my time during the COVID crisis to create artistic pieces of loved ones and places that others find meaningful. It’s helped me find peace and let go of some of the fear I’ve had during this time. I want to share a painting I did a while ago of a place…
It was the year for my organization’s Biannual Conference. The committee had put together a day filled with speakers and breakout sessions around the theme for this year: Wellness, Balance, Equity. We were hosting it at the Intercontinental at the Wharf, a beautiful venue, on March 10. Although it was right before the world was completely turned…
