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What have you always known but you’ve never been taught?
Perhaps you know that one of my most oft repeated nudges, for myself and others, is ask better questions. Frequently, it’s not that our answers are lacking, it’s that our questions don’t draw much forward that is really of any use to us. We assume too much; we are not...
Signature Scriptures
“Have this mind in you”, says the apostle Paul, “that was in Jesus Christ, who though being in the form of God did not think equality with God something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave being born in human likeness. And being found in...
Porous Denominations: A Vision for Unity
It has been a long time since I have given serious thought to the “scandal of denominations”. Sarah’s sermon on Sunday, however, brought it back to my attention, and I wondered if she was expressing a perspective of a new generation of Christian thinkers who have...
Fall in Love, Stay in Love…Let It Decide Everything
“I love you with so much of my heart that none is left to protest.” – William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing, Act 4, Scene 1 I have seen Much Ado About Nothing many times, and just saw it again (twice!) while at the American Players Theater in Spring Green,...
Christ among the Children
Apparently, a child up to the age of six has little notion of time. I learned this while undertaking an orientation of Grace’s Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program. Jennifer Bell, our catechist guide for the day said that it takes at least two hours, and ideally...
Who Do People Say That I Am?
In this coming Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus asks his disciples: “Who do people say that I am?” We find the story in chapter 8 of Mark’s Gospel, and so since Mark has sixteen chapters, it would seem fair to say that it’s a mid-course assessment kind of question. The...
Let go, let be, let come…set free
There are two “first” questions in the beginning of the Bible. One comes from God’s adversary, the serpent, who asks Eve, “Did God really say, “You shall not eat from any tree in the garden?’” And the other comes after that challenge, when God asks Adam and...
Sustaining Grace Gatherings
Last Fall and this past Spring, over 100 Grace members attended a Sustaining Grace Gathering – small social events in fellow parishioners’ homes. “Reconnect and Renew” was our Grace theme in 2022, and at these gatherings in the Fall of 2023 and the Spring of 2024 we...
Lessons From a Neglected Garden
“You’ve been talking about your garden, ever since I met you”, a Grace parishioner told me after a recent reference probably in a sermon! Well, imagine the impact of my back and forth from Northern California on the poor thing. Thistles and rogue trees love it, as I...
Civic Discourse: God Does Love Everybody
The image above is a real photo from the internet, taken in a Publix supermarket (a grocery chain in the south). I do not know this man, but his shirt is perhaps a reflection of how bad our ability to dialogue really has become in our country, so much so that it has...
Our Short and Sweet Why!
Our short and sweet why! What if I was to tell you that there are five outstanding reasons for the Church to exist? First it is to recognize that as human beings we all seek purpose and meaning, and the Church welcomes that search. Second, there’s joy in knowing that...
Sport, Spirit, and the Search for Transcendence
I am remembering why I have tried over the years to take my vacation during the Olympic Games! In the election tour for the diocese of Iowa, I even warned the people what to expect. It is amazing that we enjoyed five Olympics together. In 2012, the Olympics were in...