“Meditation—by different names, underpinnings of belief, and formats—is a central practice in all of the world’s major religions: Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, and Christianity.”
“Blessed are you, O God of our Lord Jesus Christ, in whom we receive the legacy of a living hope, born again not only from his death but also from his resurrection.”
“We’ve giggled at technological hiccups, theirs and ours, with Paul and I agreeing we’re going to get so much better at this, after the first week’s battle finding the port for the HDMI cable cost us the opening hymn. When St. Christopher’s live stream locked up, we caught the end of Trinity’s service, then clicked over to YouTube for our own Fr. Tom at St. Paul’s, in Prosper.”
“This moment, when many are dying and we are all afraid, is precisely when the people of God need the Eucharist to be celebrated. Easter needs to happen. And if people are not able to be physically in the church, they are comforted and strengthened by being able to open a link and see the celebration of the Easter Feast in their churches. In classic Anglican fashion we need not split hairs about exactly what sort of participation this amounts to. We can agree that the people are gathered, that Christ is present, and that we have the blessed assurance that Christ our Passover is still, always and at all times, sacrificed for us.”
“Our hearts already are prayer baskets, filled to the brim with sorrowful and fearful pleadings that God will finally have mercy on us, that in the meanwhile, God will give us the strength to continue day by day.”
“Social distancing isn’t really what we are doing. What we are doing is physically distancing ourselves. What we need to do is social engagement. This will require setting boundaries around work, which has been a tyranny working its tendrils into our lives after 5:00. Now, as we work from home, what we must do is set clear work hour boundaries. The tendency will be to take our laptops into our community spaces. Don’t do it unless you are going to watch a movie on it. No. We need to make sure that we reign in the work creep and reengage in the familial life in the house and outside of it. Once we have reigned in our work, we can use our time to break out of isolation beyond the workday.”
“During the COVID-19 pandemic, the entire Church is in a liminal time. We know we will emerge different from how we entered this era, but we cannot see what that will look like yet. And we do not like it. Trust me that while it is stressful, there are also blessings to this time.”
As any doubt over the far-ranging consequences of different views on economic matters color our upcoming presidential election, our theology and civil engagement are absolutely intertwined.
“While COVID-19 reinforces the truth that, “Death is the Great Equalizer”, this pandemic exposes the structural disparities and racism that cries out for voices of PEACE and JUSTICE.”
“These images of Mary as priest, as a leader in the church, as an apostle, and as a bold and strong woman who was at the crucifixion despite the risk it posed to her own life, stand in stark contrast to the image that is often associated with Mary as meek and mild.”