Category: The Magazine

At this time, 25% of the parishes in my diocese are without a priest, and 40% of the parishes in the diocese cannot afford a full-time priest.  Nearly all of the rural parishes of my diocese fall into both of these categories. Most of the rural parishes of TEC are in the same boat, and are on the verge of collapse.  Very soon we will be, for all intents and purposes, an urban church.  What do we do?  

We review Dessert First by J. Dana Trent, a thoughtful and life-filled look at death and grief

These days, as I age and slow down a bit, I am finding myself less and less inclined to rush past precious things in search of many or impressive or self-anesthetizing things.

The question of whether to support or oppose building the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) atop Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano on the island of Hawai’i, has recently attracted the national media’s attention and preoccupied a significant portion of The Episcopal Church in Hawai’i

Glamor craves what might be, while beauty gently nods at the wabi-sabi of what simply is. Impermanent. Imperfect. Incomplete. And yet still lovely.

What the mythologies of the world tell us is that mankind needs to believe in something. In ‘The Magic of Thinking Big”, David Schwartz writes: “Believe it can be done. When you believe something can be done, really believe, your mind will find the ways to do it. Believing a solution paves the way to solution.”   

A reflection on the nature of masculinity

Though I have many friends, I find it helpful to celebrate them one at a time when I pray.  This one friend.  This one shell.  This one meditation moment.  This one day of life.  

A reflection on the costs of supporting change in the church through the story of one ally of ordaining women 45 years ago

We humans like to leave a mark behind which says: “I was here.” We wonder what will be left behind when we die?  Was it good people raised, big churches built, good sermons written, good art in homes or galleries or good memories of people who loved us and occasionally tell stories including or even about us?