Seeking Authentic Voice

    Sculpture is called "Expansion" by Paige Bradley.  You can read more about it and its creation here .   MaryBeth, over at RevGals offers this beautiful image and Friday Five:   For today's Friday Five, share five occasions or events in your life that have been turning points...when you have felt like a new thing was being born. You can refer to the birth of children, career, your kitchen garden, or whatever moves you.     1.  Top on my list is the call I received to come to this church in Dearborn. No doubt this has been a call of birth and new life. I am blessed to be in a creative, energetic, progressive parish where I most fully able to be authentic as a priest and as a person. I love that in addition to all of the ways in which I love being here vocationally, I can also walk most anyplace I need to go and I can garden too. It's a holistic place for me, new life in many ways. 2. CREDO II - my recent experience at CREDO II afforded me

 A reflection on the readings for Trinity Sunday with a Baptism.... Over the last couple of weeks I have spent every spare moment gardening. I planted my vegetable garden. I worked with other parishioners to plant the ground cover in our new pet memorial garden. We also planted flowers in the planters around the labyrinth. I weeded the front and side yards of the Rectory. I pulled out dozens of maple tree saplings that popped up like popcorn.   I pulled up clover and a lot of grass growing into the landscaped beds.  Despite the fact that the last two nights of frost may have killed off my newly planted basil, zucchini and cucumbers, overall I think plants are incredible hardy – most of the new planting survived!   Plants are seemingly careless in their abundance, prolific in their wild abandoned state, plants of all kinds grow anywhere there is a little soil, water, and sun.     This time of year, all over the deck in the backyard of the rectory, are maple seeds.

This sermon was inspired by mothers I know who shared with me their pain of losing a child to suicide, and given at a funeral over which I presided recently. Some of the basic structure of the sermon was also inspired from  ponderingpastor.wordpress.com/2012/02/07/funeral-for-suicide-victim. Who would have thought, just a few days ago, that we would be here tonight?  This has been an especially difficult few days.   Days like these remind us that life is so very fragile.  One moment all seems well, and the next moment a sudden heart attack strikes. Or a moment of distracted driving and an accident happens. Or an historic tornado blows through town. Or a there’s a bombing or a shooting. Lives are lost in a moment of time. Life is fragile. For Steven, his life too was fragile, and now, in an instant, he’s gone. And no one could have predicted just how vulnerable Steven was.  Perhaps some of you are feeling guilty or questioning what you could have done to help Steven m

Who would have thought, just a few days ago, that we would be here tonight?  This has been an especially difficult few days.   Days like these remind us that life is so very fragile.   One moment all seems well, and the next moment a sudden heart attack strikes. Or a moment of distracted driving and an accident happens. Or an historic tornado blows through town. Or a there’s a bombing or a shooting. Lives are lost in a moment of time. Life is fragile. For S, his life too was fragile, and now, in an instant, he’s gone. And no one could have predicted just how vulnerable S was.  Perhaps some of you are feeling guilty or questioning what you could have done to help S more? The truth is, everyone did the best they could.  S didn’t die because you failed.  S died because of his illness.  You, his family and friends, did the best you could.  S didn’t die because you didn’t do enough.   Some anger at S, should you feel that at some point in time, is appropriate.  Thi

 A reflection on Acts 2:1-21 for the Day of Pentecost John Lewis, a Congressman from Georgia, has written memoirs of his days working with Martin Luther King, Jr. These books reflect Lewis’ deep spirituality and describe how faith, hope, and love have been the guiding principles of his life. In his book, “Across That Bridge, Life Lessons and a Vision for Change” Lewis tells a from the early 1960’s, which I paraphrase here: On day Lewis entered a restaurant and ordered a meal. As a black man he was not allowed in the restaurant and was asked to leave. He gently refused and tried again and again to order his meal. Finally the waitress brought him his meal. Just as he was about to take his first bite, the waitress proceeded to pour disinfectant down his back. She then poured water all over his meal. Then restaurant owner proceeded to spray Lewis with an insecticide intended to kill cockroaches. The owner sprayed Lewis until his skin was burned. All the while Lewis offere