Seeking Authentic Voice

 A reflection on the readings for Epiphany 3A: Isaiah 9:1-4, 1 Cor 1:10-18, Matthew 4:12-23 Hannah Mills, my great grandmother, five generations back, was born in 1839 in Lancashire, England. Her father, Isaac, worked as a dyer at a local cotton mill. My great grandfather, five generations back, came to live with Hannah’s family following the death of his parents when he was a small child. Not being blood relatives, Jonathon and Hannah were married when she was nineteen and he was twenty-three. In the late 1850’s Hannah and Jonathon converted to Mormonism. From family genealogy it appears that the rest of Hannah’s family remained members of the Church of England. This assumption is based in part on the fact that Hannah and Jonathon were married in the Manchester Cathedral December 20 , 1857. The Manchester Cathedral, part of the Church of England, dates back to the 1600’s, and perhaps as early as the 700’s. The Mormon Church excommunicated Hannah and Jonathon for having their wedding i

A reflection on the readings for Epiphany 1A: Isaiah 42:1-9, Psalm 29, Matthew 3:13-17 I don’t know why this happens to me, but often I wake up in the morning with an earworm, the words from some piece of music, usually a hymn, playing round and round in my head. Most recently my earworm was, “In the bleak midwinter.” I think it floated around in my consciousness the entire week between Christmas and New Year’s. Now, the last couple of days it has been, “Come thou long expected Jesus.” Of course I can only remember a couple of words and a sliver of the tune, but that doesn’t stop my brain from tossing it around during yoga class, while drinking a cup of coffee or doing dishes, or even, as I fell while walking outside. Come thou long expected Jesus, come to set thy people free, from our”….and then I can’t remember exactly how the rest of the phrase goes. Our mind, our consciousness, is fascinating. Just what is it that makes us tick? Dr. Robert Lanza is a stem-cell researcher. He is cur

About a year ago the History channel premiered a story with geologist Scott Wolter regarding a theory on the connection between the famous Stonehenge in England, a Stonehenge like construction in Salem, New Hampshire, and the ancient sea mariners known as the Phoenicians. Both the Stonehenge in England and the Stonehenge like structure in New Hampshire are accurate astronomical constructions aligning with the sun at the spring and autumn equinoxes and summer and winter solstices. Both stonehenges are perfectly aligned to one another and during the summer solstice they form a direct line of connection to each other and then to Beirut, Lebanon, which was the ancient home of the Phoenician people. It’s as if someone built them this way on purpose. The Stonehenge structure in America is thought to be about 2400 years old and contains inscriptions to Baal, the God of the Phoenicians, which reads: “To Baal on behalf of the Canaanites this is dedicated.” Baal worship is referenced throughout