On this Election Eve, I spent some time in my record collection looking for songs to carry me over the next few days. Many are songs that have carried me for years. I hope they offer some solace and solidarity as we ponder the fate of our nation. For many reasons, I wish “America” was…
One of the things I learned along the way is curry is not the name of an actual dish but a description of a kind of dish. A curry can be pretty much what you want it to be. I feel the same way about chili. From region to region in this fair land of…
For All Saints Day, I preached at two churches, thanks to the magic of the internet and the reality of remote worship. One of the churches is working their way through the Acts of the Apostles, so I went with their scripture—Acts 6:1-7—for both groups. It is a collection of verses that isn’t in the…
Sometimes when I have a chance to preach, I feel like I have a big point to get across. At other times, like this week, when the whole thing feels quieter—more of an observation or a remembrance than a proclamation. I followed Moses up the mountain to his death in Deuteronomy 34:1-12 and here’s what…
One of the things I learned when we moved to Durham, North Carolina is that making a good biscuit is a practiced art form. I worked in restaurants there alongside of some amazing biscuit makers before I felt like I could say I knew how to make a good biscuit. In particular, I want to…
In my book Keeping the Feast: Metaphors for the Meal, the chapter called “Signature Dish” begins with these words: My first date with Ginger, who is now my wife, was a Lyle Lovett concert in a tiny club in Fort Worth, Texas. On our second date, I cooked dinner for her. It was a Saturday…
I know. I haven’t been here in a while. I’ve missed it. And I’m working to change that pattern for the days ahead. I’ll start with my sermon for today. I am preaching in two places this morning: remotely at United Churches of Durham CT and in person at First Congregational Church of Guilford, which…
I’m not sure whether this poem works, but it seemed worth a shot. trustable was the word I heard the syllabic rhythm sent my mind dancing into the past to find uncrustable a made up word for a prepackaged PB&J designed to say the artful care of cutting off crusts takes too much time care…
One of my Facebook friends here in Guilford posted this picture of the sunset blurred by the ash of the fires on the other side of the country. scattered the east coast sunset looks like the west african haze of the harmattan but our sun is not muted by the desert dust but by the…
all is not lost the art of losing isn’t hard to master bishop said and that got her anthologized and awarded but not listened to we have so much more to lose life is losing we all go out empty-handed just this year we lost hugs and handshakes happy hours sacred gatherings live music and…