How can we tend to our souls in these difficult days? Each day, I say to myself, I will pray. I will center. I will show compassion for those around me. Then, I falter. Then, anxiety calls me, like a siren, into a fog of haphazard distraction. Mindlessly, I scroll the fire updates and the … Continue reading Soul-tending
One day at a time
For a moment, two weeks ago, I thought that I was home. The air was thick in the darkness, humid like Western Pennsylvania in the summer time, and the roll of thunder outside of my window slowly roused me from sleep. But then I heard the howl of the wind. I woke up with a … Continue reading One day at a time
“Be gentle with yourself” and other lies I tell
On a particularly difficult day, in a series of difficult days, I found myself not only unable to attend to my long to-do list, but also unable to take joy in any other activity. Frozen on the couch, I asked my wife what she thought I should do. (She is also a pastor, and she … Continue reading “Be gentle with yourself” and other lies I tell
People like them
It was a week an a half ago that I met him. Let's say that his name was Isaiah. He was young, so young that I almost did a double-take. I don't think we've met before, I said. Do I know you? Do I know me? he replied, barely making eye contact. Quickly, I inferred … Continue reading People like them
Fearful, wonderful
Fearfully and wonderfully made, she said. And then, Breathe, as she plunged the needle into my back. I pressed my fingers against the wall, and made a mental note that I needed to use hand sanitizer as soon as this was over. It would be a while, because it was, as Christians say, a kairos … Continue reading Fearful, wonderful
More prayer, not less
Halfway through my third year of ministry, I tried to run away to the convent. Now, I forget the specific reason. Perhaps it was that my Annual Conference had yet to to decide if it would ordain openly gay candidates. It might have been the approaching first anniversary of my grandmother's death. Whatever the motivation, … Continue reading More prayer, not less
Christ and Chronic Pain
Like many things, chronic pain was something that I thought I understood by proxy. I had watched my grandmother suffer under the weight of her increasing affliction. As years passed, she hunched over, more and more; finding less and less relief. Sometimes, I relive the progression with photographs. My grandmother suffers from chronic back pain, … Continue reading Christ and Chronic Pain
A tale of two bathrooms
I did not plan to make my stand there - in the bathroom. Like some of you, I had dreams for my personal social-isolation. A marathon. A novel. A sonata (played, not written). For my ministry, I imagined a YouTube channel. An online framework of spiritual reflection. A how-to manual for progressive Christian activism. Then, … Continue reading A tale of two bathrooms
The art of losing takes time to master
The art of losing isn’t hard to master;so many things seem filled with the intentto be lost that their loss is no disaster. Or so says Elizabeth Bishop is in poem "One Art". In line after line she builds her case, describing in details the petty things that she loses each day; her keys, a … Continue reading The art of losing takes time to master
Scent-sensitive disciples, fraught public meetings, and acts of true compassion
The woman makes a scene. They are seated at the table. People are finishing the meal, and instead of doing something useful, like offering to bring out the after-dinner coffee, this woman basically hijacks the party. In the Gospel of John, at least it is not an unnamed random woman. Rather, it is one of … Continue reading Scent-sensitive disciples, fraught public meetings, and acts of true compassion
