What does prayer mean to you?
Do you pray?
If so, to whom?
Do you offer gratitude, praises, apologies, supplications?
Do you get a response?
Do you think it causes tangible results or does it just make us feel better? Continue reading
Tag Archives: religion
Real Life Beautitudes
“Mint Ting-a-Ling.” “Piece of Cake.” “Bittersweet Symphony.” “White Lightning.”
No, those aren’t brands of moonshine – those are the different ice cream flavors that I have tried so far from The Ice Cream Shack. Much like Wegman’s grocery story, I have become enamored with this local lactose staple. I’ll keep you updated on the newest flavors… Continue reading
It’s Alright to Be Little Bitty
It’s time to tackle the pint-sized elephant in the room: This church I am working with for the month of August is tiny. In fact, it’s so small that on July 1st it entered into a “cooperative parish” with another nearby church. Basically, that just means that two small churches share one ordained elder who splits her time between the two congregations. In theory, the churches should have joint committees and merged ministries and the like. In practice, the two churches have yet to really integrate their organizational structure, leaving my pastor with twice as many meetings to attend, twice as many budget issues to deal with, and half as much sleep. Continue reading
Methodism 101
I have arrived in beautiful Lakewood, NY. This marks the closest I have ever been to the Great Lakes – in fact, I pulled off the highway to see Lake Erie up close and personal. Also, I didn’t think the change coming from Tennessee to New York would be an increase in trees, but I swear I have never seen such an endless expanse of forest as I did in the last 30 miles to Lakewood. Continue reading
Blast Off.
- Reds Stadium!
I find myself tonight with an unexpected calm. I set off for New York today, and I just feel good about it. I am spending the night in Cincinnati with a friend’s dad, and despite little speed bumps popping up in my long-term plans for the year, there is certain peacefulness that comes from trusting that what should happen, will happen. And regardless, I have a great place in New York to spend the next month. Continue reading
An Embodied Faith?
Five days. In five days, I set off for Lakewood, New York, for the first leg of my journey. I can hardly believe that the crazy fantasy of one year ago has turned into a concrete reality. In final preparation, I’m about to sell off all of my childhood belongings in a massive two-day yard sale. Hopefully I won’t have a breakdown over the Pokémon and Pogs… Continue reading
The Sound of Silence
“Tonight, we will be singing short musical responses, repeating them over and over. The repetition of a short phrase helps to quiet the chatter of our monkey brains so that we can go deeper into our hearts and souls. We encourage you to try the Latin texts, since the simple and clear vowels help to create beautiful and calm music, but if you want to sing the English translation, that will be just fine.”
That is the leader of the first Taizé service I have ever taken part in. Taizé (teh-ZAY) is a small ecumenical monastic order in Burgundy, France that reaches out to any Christian communities that want to provide a “less busy” worship service for Christians of a contemplative bent. Continue reading
Life Reconciling 