Transitions in Scotland
We just returned from two weeks in Scotland. Many months ago we planned to visit the Island of Iona to participate in a week-long retreat at the historic Abbey. We …
Riley Howell
Our church and community just suffered the trauma of the death of Riley Howell, a young man raised in our congregation, who hurled himself at a gunman who invaded his …
Annunciation
Annunciation. That is what we call the angel Gabriel’s message to the virgin Mary in Luke’s Gospel story (Luke 1:26-38). In Matthew’s version, it is only related that “an angel” …
Yet, We Live
During this season of Lent we have been visually inspired by Sylvia’s newest piece, hanging in the midst of our sanctuary at First United Methodist Church, Waynesville. Entitled “Yet, We …
Intercession
In the small town where I live it is not unusual to hear people say in parting “I will pray for you.” If not “you,” then it might be your …
Patriarchy, Republics, and our Present Travail
As I, like you, struggle with the constant torrent of chatter, lies, and consternation that fills our life these days, the words of Machiavelli (yes, Machiavelli!) rise out of the …
Christmas Hope 2018
Passage through the Advent and Christmas season is always jarring for me, with the mighty paeans of praise for a new-born King and stories of God/Fathers and dutiful pregnancies of …
The Faure Requiem with Poetry
On October 14 our choir at First United Methodist Church in Waynesville, North Carolina, presented six movements of the beloved Requiem by Gabriel Fauré as the heart of a service …
Poetry and Public Prayer
We Americans are once again in a full-throated struggle over the viability of our republican institutions of constitutional government. The would-be despot our founders feared has indeed seized administrative control …
Holy Darkness
As we move to the end of the season of Lent and into the Holy Week between Palm Sunday and Easter, I want to share with you two panels that …
Interfaith Peace Conference 2018: Some Reflections
Last weekend we took part in the ninth Lake Junaluska Interfaith Peace Conference. The political convulsions of the last few years led to the theme of “Meeting the Other — …
Galactic Sipapu
I hear that every spiral galaxy has only one black hole, an eye to look into the nothing that contains the light of stars too vast to count, …
Our Struggle over Religious Freedom
On the heels of our day to honor the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr., comes a little known Religious Freedom Day to remember the commitment that anchors our Bill …
Magnificat in Dark Times
This past Sunday evening I joined some ninety voices from the Haywood Community Chorus to sing the Magnificat by John Rutter. In Luke’s telling of the birth of Jesus, Mary …
A New Processional Cross
I was recently asked to make a new cross for the Sanctuary at our church. I was told it should be able to stand as a focal point in worship …
Publicity, Celebrity, and Salvation
Like some other people my age, I have been trying to sift through my thoughts and writings to trace the threads that have become the enduring fabric of my way …