Ketoctin Grace
As long-time readers of this blog know, a small brick church in Virginia’s Loudoun County has been a singular presence in my entire life. Ketoctin Baptist Church was founded in …
Mediating the I Am—Some Summery Reflections
On August first the world here in the Smokies seems to pause, take a breath, and then sigh with a slight cool shudder of fall. Global warming might advance that …
Poetics, Liturgy and Lent
At the invitation of the pastors at my church, I provided the opening call and prayer for our worship services from Ash Wednesday to Easter this year. It became a …
Twenty Years of Roundtable Worship
Last Sunday was the twentieth anniversary of the Roundtable Worship Gathering at First United Methodist Church in Waynesville, North Carolina. Whether by dogged perseverance, habit, or the winds of the …
A Prayer from Ukraine
In response to my previous posting, my long-time friend Gerd Decke, a retired pastor in Berlin, sent me a prayer he had received through a German church-relief agency from the …
Christmas in Ukraine
There are times in our individual lives, in the lives of communities and nations, and now even on this planet, when a catalytic flash seems to weld together our fitful …
In the Time of Grace
In the time of grace beyond three score and ten a clearing opens up before me at the edge of woods where I have made my fires, built my homes, …
Framing Anxiety
Anxious feelings pervade our lives these days. The impending climate catastrophes, the horrors of Putin’s war on the people and land of Ukraine, the Trumpists’ efforts to destroy our republic …
Righteous Anger
Our recent Roundtable Worship focused its conversation on “righteous anger.” While the Bible attributes this emotion to God throughout Israel’s record and it is referenced many times in the Christian …
Roundtable Call and Remembrance
Some of you have expressed appreciation for receiving elements of the liturgy for our monthly Roundtable Worship here in the mountains of North Carolina. After the lighting of a candle …
Fetal Personhood?
The US Supreme Court’s reversal of its earlier ruling (Roe v. Wade) upholding women’s right to abortion, has intensified the argument that the fetus, from the moment of conception, is …
Abortion Metaphysics
The life-and-death controversy over termination of pregnancies, as I intimated last time, continually leads me back to the metaphysical disputations rooted in our ancient philosophers. In broad strokes, the controversy …
Tragedy, Crime, and Abortion
We are all acutely aware of how difficult it is to find our footing in this turbulent time. Our eyes and ears are assailed with violence, lies, and destruction, blinding …
Aiming at our Heart
Even as our throats are choked with grief and our tongues are silenced before the evil of the violence in Ukraine and across America, we know that we must return …
Hattie’s Gift
When by some good grace we enter into our elder years, we begin to search for those who might help guide us into ways we might surrender our lives at …