Latest Posts
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Silent Prayer, Buddhist and Christian
Before you read this, start with silence. No, really, please do. Sit in silence for at least ten seconds. Ten minutes would be better. Not because my meditation here will be better if you do (though, hey, you never know),… Continue reading
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The human stories of Scripture
“Foxes have their dens, and birds of the air have their nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” How lonely must Jesus have been to have said this. Or should we read it theologically, as… Continue reading
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Praying together in the second person
“You” is the most important word in Christian prayer. Wait a second. “You”? What about “God”? What about “Christ”? What about “Jesus”? Yes, these are important words in Christian prayer, and the name “Jesus” certainly has its magnificent and eternal… Continue reading
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Giving Voice to Every Creature under Heaven
In the Episcopal Eucharistic Prayer D, the presider invites the congregation to think about what trees might say in heaven. That’s not exactly how the BCP puts it, of course, but basically it’s what the invitation asks people to do.… Continue reading
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Storytelling, Children, and Spirituality
As I raise my children, especially as I raise them spiritually, I’m surprised at how much time I spend telling stories. This shouldn’t be much of a surprise, I feel, because Christianity (my faith) is fundamentally a storytelling religion. Some… Continue reading
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Asking children questions about God
The other day, I asked my daughters if they had any tough questions about God. I was doing this to help me brainstorm questions for our “Coffee and Theology” group at church. This group meets every two weeks or so,… Continue reading
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Prayer and Creativity
We don’t often talk about creativity in our spiritual lives. Or, if we do, I don’t think that we talk about it enough. Usually, when discussing our spiritual lives, we talk about either our tradition or our freedom in the… Continue reading
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Adults in Children’s Sunday School
We came to quite the problem when presenting Palm Sunday and Holy Week to our church school children. Our curriculum has readings and a video, but both the children and the teachers found it a little disturbing. Good Friday in… Continue reading
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To love every part of Creation
A very good friend of mine loves strip malls. He also loves buildings on the sides of highways that are somewhat broken down, especially if they’re made of painted-over bricks or cinder blocks. Old mechanics’ shops, garages with no sign… Continue reading
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Children and Lenten Practices
This year, I played around with the idea of asking my two girls to take part in Lent. Specifically, I wondered if I should ask them to take on some sort of lenten discipline. In part, I’d like them to… Continue reading
Incense and Crayons 