Last Thursday night Ginger and I drove up the Hartford to meet our friend Christy and watch Baylor play UConn in basketball. The Huskies, perhaps the most famous women’s basketball program in the country, had won ninety-eight home games in a row. The Bears broke their streak, and didn’t wait until the final shot to…
I had to learn how to get angry. My father grew up in a house where the weather of the family was one storm after another. He was determined my brother and I would not grow up in that kind of climate and so he and my mother made a point of not yelling. What…
The word magos can mean “a magus, sage of the magician religion, magician, astrologer, wise one;” but, probably because it was King James who authorized the version that has most affected our telling of Jesus’ birth, we have come to call them the Three Kings. They make one appearance in Matthew 2, right on the…
I preached this morning at North Haven Congregational Church. Here is what I had to say. ______________________________________ For a number of years now, I have marked the end of the year with a song by Counting Crows that begins a long december and there’s reason to believe maybe this year will be better than the…
This is a first. I have never made up a cocktail before. It grew out of a conversation with a friend–over the poetry of Padraig O’Tuama, as I remember, and she said to me, “Why don’t you make up a cocktail called ‘A Thin Place’?” I accepted the challenge. A thin place is an image…
A friend has been going through some tough times lately. They are from England, so I decided I would make English scones to offer support. English scones are lighter and fluffier than what we get in most American bake shops. They are good with butter and jam or marmalade; they are also good all by…
I came home from our first Christmas Eve service struck by an irony that happens every year. We sing “Silent Night” and light candles, as many congregations do on this night, but then, in order to finish the service, we have to blow them out to sing “Joy to the World” and say, “Merry Christmas.”…
I wanted to make this tarte soleil–which means sun tart–as soon as I saw the picture at Smitten Kitchen. But I wanted to make if for breakfast. So, instead of her olive tapenade filling, I decided I could fill it as I do my cinnamon rolls and let the aroma wake everyone up. I also decided…
My friend Robert Dilday died in his sleep Saturday night. He was not old–by that I mean he was only a year older than me. He was ordained to the priesthood in the Episcopal Church on December 14. The picture above is him serving communion after his ordination. He had one Sunday at his new…
This morning I preached at our 8:30 service; our annual pageant took place at 10:00, so I didn’t have to do double duty. The passage for today was Matthew 1:18-25, which tells the story of Gabriel’s visit to Joseph. What follows is my manuscript, which is specifically aimed at our congregation, but it feels worth…