I picked up a new traveling companion for this Lenten journey: Wendell Berry’s Standing by Words: Essays. The title essay begins, Two epidemic illnesses of our time—upon both of which virtual industries of cures have been founded—are the disintegration of communities and the disintegration of persons. (14) I added his word to my growing list:…
Tonight, as I went on a relatively futile search for words of my own to share, I found some words by others I am going to borrow tonight. These are not easy poems because they name grief quite well, and in that have offered me comfort. All three of them were new to me. The…
The Madeleine L’Engle book that has been one of my Lenten companions is called A Stone for a Pillow, and centers around the story of Jacob. As a result, the idea of an altar has been on my mind, which has led me to repeated listening to one of my favorite songs by my friend,…
I woke up to a surprise snowfall this morning, and nowhere I had to be immediately, so I sat down for my morning coffee and continuing conversation with Madeleine L’Engle and Marilynne Robinson. Even though their two books were written two decades apart and, as far as I know, independent of one another, I am…
Today has been a difficult day. I struggled to find words. I might do better to say these words found me. lost and found everything rides on the conjunction— and, not or. I am both. lost in grief, and found by friends; full of joy, and broken hearted. grief house rock— what’s my function? Peace,…
Today would have been my parents’ sixtieth wedding anniversary, so this morning I went looking for Wendell Berry’s poem “The Country of Marriage” to set the tone for my day, landing on these words in particular: Our bond is no little economy based on the exchange of my love and work for yours, so much…
When we lived in Boston, we would often drive back to Charlestown down the Cambridge side of the Charles River, which meant we passed the Museum of Science. We were sitting at the traffic signal one afternoon and read this billboard: Come visit the new planetarium at the Museum of Science, you tiny insignificant speck…
Today’s words grew out of those suggested when I was crowdsourcing ideas for my Lenten writings. The suggestion was best friends. After hearing from some lifelong friends over the past several days in different ways, I made a slight adjustment. Thinking about the words set me to thinking of songs, and so I offer another musical journey…
”What About Me?” Mark 5:21-43 A Sermon for First Congregational Church of Guilford UCC February 28, 2016 Let me begin this morning by saying you’re going to hear a story you’ve heard before. In fact, you’re going to hear one you heard just a couple of weeks ago when Ginger preached about the woman who…
From time to time, as I read an author’s work, my connection with the writer moves beyond the page to a more personal connection. They become my friend—an odd use of the word, I suppose, having never met them—because of the resonance I feel. Reading their books becomes a conversation of sorts. I can almost…