ablation the word rings in my ears like a rite or a ritual though I am not sure exactly what role I play it means “a carrying away” in its oldest form though medically it’s “a removal of something harmful” they will carry away broken bits of my heart to restore its rhythm that sounds…
Since I had my cochlear implant surgery eight weeks ago, I have been writing a poem a day to help me reflect on what is happening to me and my hearing. This is today’s poem. cartography we forget the word map is short for mappa mundi map of the world or perhaps map of a…
Everything that is going on in the Brasher-Cunningham household alongside of Advent beginning before we were finished with Thanksgiving leftovers mean I am a day late beginning my annual Advent Journal, which starts this year with my sermon from yesterday, “Mooing at Kyle.” I hope your Advent is full of hope and wonder. _____________________ We…
It’s been a while since I posted a sermon, mostly because all of the medical stuff I have been dealing with has made what I have offered from the pulpit less than postable. But I’m back and talking about the birds and flowers that Jesus pointed to as examples of how to be human. _____________________________…
My sermon is only a few days old, but it feels like a lifetime ago, thanks to my implant surgery. I finally felt up to doing some work today, so here you go. _______________________ One of the many joys of being in New Orleans last week was I had the chance to see our nephew’s…
When I got my Honda a couple of years ago, it was my first time to have a screen and easy access to a GPS. When I tell it I want to come here, it says the quickest way to get from Guilford to here is to take I-95 to I-91. It is (usually) quick,…
Words take on lives of their own, so what we say and how we say it matters. I know that is not news, but I repeat it because I saw it happen even as I was preparing to preach today. A friend from Texas, who is a former minister, called to check in this week…
It was a Communion Sunday at our church this past week, and it was also the Sunday after the shooting in Georgia. Here’s what I said in that intersection. The scripture was James 2:1-8, 14-17. _________________________ Sometimes we speak in euphemisms, that is we say things we mean, but we don’t intend for them to…
For the month of September I am preaching from passages in the Letter from James, a small book towards the end of the New Testament that is an exercise in practical theology. This week’s sermon drew from James 1:17-27. ____________________________ One of the things I remember about the beginning of the pandemic when we were…
My sermon is a day or two late making it here because I was a part of the New England Songwriters’ Retreat, which was a transcendent experience for me. (If you would like to read more about that, please subscribe to my newsletter.) The retreat was close by, so I was able to slip away…