“Regardless of where I am spiritually at any given moment, I persist with readings and prayers at the beginning and end of each day. And, despite what may be going badly in some of our lives, here we are, together as the Body of Christ in this Cafe, choosing to get up and embrace the spiritual life again today, to seek that joyful union.”
“Alfred Adler, in his theory of Individual Psychology, wrote that mental health could not be balanced by oneself—there must be a community aspect to it. He called that ‘social interest’ or ‘community feeling’.”
On January 21, 2021, President Joe Biden continued an American tradition by attending a prayer service at the Washington National Cathedral. The event included a closing prayer from Presiding Bishop Curry. Since 1933, the National Inaugural Prayer Service has been a familiar part of the inaugural ceremonies, but even before the was a National Cathedral, The Episcopal Church prayed for—and with—Presidents. That tradition began with George Washington and the first inauguration in 1789.
“As we traverse this second year of COVID with fears about the possibilities of more restrictions conflicting with our desire to get rid of masks and start gathering together, I know that many of us are wondering, ‘Does God believe in healing?'”
“Cry aloud, in habitants of Zion, ring out your joy,
for the great one in the midst of you is the Holy One of Israel.”
“As I fell from my perch, that lofty view, my eyesight blurred and my heart broke. I never quite got over it.”
There is a narrow access road running down the middle of my Pennsylvania hometown cemetery, separating the Catholic “St. Mary’s Cemetery” from the Protestant “Freeport
I weep because hatred wears many costumes. Most of those we are familiar with: racism, sexism, homophobia. But one of the costumes hate wears is righteousness. It is a costume, trust me – it is not the real thing. However, that costume is worn with the belief that the wearer is in the right. We saw it in the Capitol that day – the righteous costume on a person changing out our flag. People calling themselves Christian and doing unchristian acts. People thinking they were doing the right thing by scaling the walls of a government building.
“As I learned about each person’s story, I began to understand why God appeared to them in those distinctive ways. We were each encountering the elephant and bringing with us our spiritual baggage—bad and good alike. How could we believe that we each beheld a wholly complete vision of God? How do we truly know what God looks like?”
“Wherever you spend most of your waking time, glimpse out a window. What element of creation do you experience as mystical? In what environment do you feel God?”