“That certain guy clearly was a follower of Jesus; otherwise he wouldn’t be part of the story. Was he an innkeeper (that might have given him a tiny bit of a social pass to be toting a water jug around), well known in the community…or was he “just a guy,” a nobody on the streets of Jerusalem, blending in with the crowd, letting Jesus use an unused room at his house?”
“Especially now, in this time and place, many people are wondering where God is, as people have wondered throughout all great crises and tumults. Jacob’s prayer and encounter with God during the night reminds us that God is ever-present, even in the darkness, even when we are afraid or feel loneliness in our journey through life. God promises to be with us always.”
The day is set out like the libretto of a psalm.
I wake up tired, dream-weary…
“Today’s Episcopal Church is very different from the Church of even a few years ago, and it continues to evolve in exciting ways.
Documenting the changing demographic make-up of our clergy will provide a better understanding of the changing nature of the community by identifying trends in deployment, and compensation, as well as in Episcopal elections.
Ultimately, this will help in the Church’s initiative to create a more just, equitable, and diverse Church.” – CPG
“Wherever you find this note, I hope it gives you the encouragement to take a deep breath and look and see the beauty in front of you. Jesus used such ordinary items – bread, wine, water – and transformed them into an abundance of grace. He’s still at work changing the simple moments in our lives into extraordinary encounters with the divine.”
“Most of the prophets were rewarded with death. Nobody likes to be told things they don’t want to hear, especially kings. But prophets are called by God, and serve God as faithful servants, and do not count the cost. So their reward comes from a place where no perishable thing exists, but in eternity. Still, as suggested elsewhere, no servant is above his master. Jesus is spat on, pelted with rocks, insulted, killed. Expect the same. And since all actions by any disciple reflect the actions, in honor or shame, of the entire family, whomever does even a little thing, offering water to the vulnerable, is doing it in the name of the Jesus family. Water. The water of life. The water with which you will never again thirst. The water of baptism. And from there Jesus and his own fanned out to preach the Gospel. We are also charged to do the same.”
The window dedicated to Jefferson Davis shows Paul in chains and includes the text “this man doeth nothing worth of death and bondage” — echoing Davis’ period of imprisonment following the war.
“There is time to learn God’s hopes and dreams and to be the hands and hearts that carry them out. There is time to nurture tender seeds, not knowing what they will become but loving them for their strange, brightly colored stems and their ability to carry your heart into wonder. There is time to make a greenhouse for God’s new life.”
“I am soon to be on my annual week of retreat which totally sucks. Being on retreat from social media, technology and work is a part of my Rule of Life; and I usually hate it. I quite like the anesthesia I have collected over the years – tools I have and use to “not feel pain.” And a retreat is an un-anesthetized week of silent reflection. It will follow a week of vacation this year, so not only will I be bored, I’ll be rested and bored. Ugh.”
“It always happens to me. I start slowly, but as the end of the training gets closer, I try to absorb more and more like a dry sponge while striving to be a cat herder for my own thoughts and questions. More and more, all of us realized that what we had was a ministry that didn’t require three years of seminary and an ordination to do. I, like the others in the training group, feel we have been called by God to do this ministry of helping others learn what they believe, where that belief came from, and how what they learn can strengthen their faith and commitment.”