Seeking Authentic Voice

Remember. Today is the anniversary of my first blog post, Sept. 11, 2006. My son, now in college, was a freshman in high school. I reflected on a discussion we had when he came home for lunch with a group of boys.What did they remember of that day five years earlier? Here I am six years later - and so much has changed. In the Eucharist this morning and our prayers for remembering, healing, anointing, we reflected on the many ways all of our lives have been changed by the events of this day eleven years ago. For me, it was the beginning of a decade of financial decline. First the company that had employed my husband for 20 years, folded in the spring of 2002 - an indirect result of 9/11 and people and companies not spending money on computer systems and upgrades. He had remade himself, found a new profession, but as a fifty year old man that took awhile. We no longer live in the same town or state that we lived in when 9/11 happened. The community we now live in is 41% Muslim. W...

A reflection on the readings for Proper 19A:Exodus 14:19-31; Psalm 114; Matthew 18:21-35, on the 10th anniversary of the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2011. The other night Dan and I were sitting in the family room, watching a movie. Suddenly we heard an odd noise in the wall. A noise that had our cat glued to the spot! Some more odd sounds and some scrambling and scratching took place; all the while the cat was motionless, staring at the spot. Dan and I wondered what was in the wall – a squirrel? A chipmunk? A mouse? After about 40 minutes there was a loud screech and the cat jumped backward! Suddenly there was a mouse running for its life around the family room floor. A mad chase ensued, the cat cornering the mouse, Dan and I overturning furniture to try and grab it, the dogs barking, and the poor mouse, a blur as it ran from corner to corner. Finally, after several failed attempts, I scooped the mouse up in a rag and ran outside to let it go. I know the mice are seeking a warm nest for th...