I’m still thinking about ashes; here are some more reflections over at ABP. I’m venturing south this week to spend some time in Richmond with the good folks at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.  Last year they graciously invited me to be their preacher this week, and in a fit of temporary insanity I agreed.  Now I am so scared I’m spending most of my time doing deep breathing exercises.  I think it… Read More

True confession: there were many years of my life when I wished that I could sing like Sandi Patty.  Please just keep your snickers to a minimum, give me credit for no longer wearing leg warmers, and admit that she does have a very beautiful voice.  I concede that it is kind of embarrassing, but you know there’s dirt on you somewhere, too.  Thank goodness I moved past my Sandi Patty phase… Read More

You’ve seen them all day today—crowded into the Metro cars, brushing past your shoulder as you rush along the sidewalks, standing in line beside you at the counter, waiting for coffee.  Have you had the same compulsion I have?  To lean over and whisper . . . “you know, you’ve got a smudge or something right there, on your forehead . . . .” And, yet, here we are, gathered in the… Read More

I visited Woodbrook Baptist Church in Baltimore Sunday, as their pastor John Ballenger and I swapped pulpits for the day.  Included in their order of worship were some thoughts on faith from William Sloane Coffin.  I thought I’d share them here: There is nothing anti-intellectual about the leap of faith, for faith is not believing without proof but trusting without reservation.  Faith is no subsitute for thinking.  On the contrary, it is… Read More

I can’t tell you how many times I have heard (and, honestly, probably said) those four words.  Sometimes my list of things I should read gets overwhelming.  Our recent enforced hibernation due to snow, however, took me all the way to the end of James Michener’s Hawaii and back to the pile of “books I should read.” Next on my list was a book lent to me with those four words by… Read More

Is it wrong to make judgements about people based on the experience of standing behind them in line at the grocery store?  I wondered this the other day as I stood in line at Safeway waiting my turn, idly observing the man in line at the register in front of me and thinking: “Well, obviously he and I could never be friends.” My unconcious musing startled me, because I like to think… Read More