Seeking Authentic Voice

What if the basic element of life all life, human life and plant life animal life and life beyond this planet what if the basic element of all life is love, emanating through our heart pulsing out into the universe affecting every thing and every one? Love. What if the basic nature of humankind is love? Not greed. Not arrogance.  Not superiority, not aggression, Love.  What if we have it wrong, to think that more is better, that bigger is better, that more and bigger means powerful?  What if that is not really true? Because nothing in nature  ever takes more  than it needs  but when it does,  it dies.  Cancer.  Cancer takes more than it needs. Cancer is a disease that can kill because it has no boundaries, no limits takes more than it needs.  And so it is when humans do that,  take more and more and let others suffer and have less,  then human kind fai...

A reflection on the Propers for 27A, Matthew 25:1-13 for Stewardship Sunday Twenty years ago, when I was a seminary student, my mentor in the ordination process use to say “Keep awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” Usually he would say this to diocesan staff or his clergy colleagues, and I always thought he was talking in some kind of code. I mean, I knew he was quoting scripture, but I had no real idea of the context in which he intended it when he said this to the Bishop’s secretary or the receptionist at the diocesan staff office. On the other hand, every time this piece of scripture comes up I think of that mentor and the time he journeyed with me.  Keep awake, for you never know when Jesus is going to come, is a piece of Christian wisdom that takes on different meanings depending the context in which one considers it.  We all grew up hearing proverbs and wise sayings from our parents or teachers. Some I remember are: “never eat yellow snow.” and, ...

Several years ago a woman and her friend and their 5 children, all under the age of 6, attempted to go to the zoo. The friend had season passes, making for a fun, inexpensive day out! However, it was obvious from the minute she got in the car, that the friend was having a bad day. They arrived at the zoo and it was packed! They had to park in the farthest parking lot, the one that wasn’t even paved. Then they trekked to the front gate pushing strollers overflowing with kid-stuff. After waiting in line for nearly an hour, the friend realized that she’d lost her wallet. She started to panic so they pulled the caravan over to the side and started looking through everything. The backpack, the diaper bag, the under the stroller storage area… nothing. She ran back to the car while the other mom watched the kids. Nothing. She searched her bags again, no luck.  So they told the kids that they weren't going to the zoo. The kids started crying. Then the mom’s started crying. They ...

A reflection on All Saints' Day, John 11:32-44, and our Stewardship In-gathering I belong to an online network of clergy women. We share stories and offer each other support and pray for one another. Most of us first met through a blog ring – an internet group of women who share stories about our lives, sermons, and prayer concerns on a blog, a personal website. For most of us Facebook and twitter have become our primary way of communicating. Over the years I have made a whole group of friends, many of whom I have never met in real life, but who I know quite well through our on-line community.   This week I’ve noticed on Facebook that a number of my friends are making comments about being thankful. It seems that each day in the month of November people will post something they are thankful for – something funny, or simple, or occasionally profound. It reminds me of a game we played years ago on our blogs – following the letters of the alphabet from A to Z, each da...