#31daysofhope I find hope when I’m intentional about seeking my own grounding and center. Rev Karen Haring is a minister of literature and offers this poem and writing prompt to help us get clear about what comes next for us. We are invited to imagine what we might do here, now, She ends the poem: … Continue reading Hart to Hearts: Writing Into the Future
Today’s hope comes from the vision of the possible. I am grateful for the hope that comes from taking actions both small and large to create the world of which we dream. Barbara Kingsolver offers us this guidance. #31daysofhope
On Facebook, my colleague the Reverend Meg Riley invited everyone she knew to join her in expressing #30DaysOfGratitude during the month of November. I thought it would be a good practice for me and so I did it. Then this morning, she let us know that she was going to continue on but with a … Continue reading Hart to Hearts: A Hopeful December
The cranberry chutney has been loaded into a jar, the pie is still cooling in anticipation of eating tomorrow. We have gathered up all the ingredients and are now in the place of waiting for tomorrow. My gratitude seems endless at this moment: for my family, my friends, my congregation, work that is satisfying and … Continue reading Hart to Hearts: AND — A Thanksgiving Message
The long, brutal election season has ended. We have a new President-elect, and new circumstances to become adjusted to. We each come to this news and new reality with our own experiences and stories. I know many in our community are experiencing fear and grief as we gaze into the unknown of what this next … Continue reading Hart to Hearts: The Day After and an Invitation to Healing
Back in the early days of my parish ministry life, I had the opportunity to preach the homily at an ecumenical Thanksgiving service in the little Vermont village where I was serving. I searched through books, looked at various notes and all those odd bits of paper that preachers of that era kept for inspiration, … Continue reading Hart to Hearts: The Story of Our Land
In the service on October 16, I made reference to a Fresh Air with Terri Gross interview with Jonathan Safran Foer that I listened to last week. You can find the podcast of it here: http://www.npr.org/programs/fresh-air/2016/10/11/497066949/fresh-air-for-october-11-2016?showDate=2016-10-11. And while I’m at it, I want to recommend another podcast for you to check out. It’s called the Pamphlet. … Continue reading Resource from Sunday’s service and more
As I get older, I tend to look at healing as a journey rather than a destination. But that wasn’t always the case. After I got plantar fasciitis a few years ago, I thought that all I needed to do was to heal from that and be done with it. But it started a whole … Continue reading What Does It Mean to Be a Community of Healing?
In my first or second year in parish ministry, I was approached after the service by the wife of the emeritus minister. With a wry look on her face, she said, “I see from today’s service that you took that class in seminary, ‘How to Pick the Unsingable Hymns.’” I admitted that the hymns that … Continue reading Music, Music, Music
The fast forward of commerce is always startling to me, though I know it shouldn’t be any longer. As we lurch into some fine summer weather, the back to school sales are well underway. My local Value Village has been displaying Christmas decorations for weeks already, and in the heat of August, clothes built for … Continue reading Hart to Hearts: Bits and Bobs* for the Middle of Summer
