Savoring pilgrimage: redux
Are we tourists or pilgrims in our day-to-day lives with God?
Category: Posts
Sabbatical #8: On Reentry
When is busyness productive, and when is it counterproductive? And how does a pastor/minister/priest even measure productivity, when part of our job is to be still and pray, or to study the Bible just for the Bible’s sake?
Sabbatical Post #7: On getting lost
I decided to stop thinking that I was lost or had failed to navigate properly. I was in a beautiful forest, the ground was soft, my feet were happy, the rain had stopped, and Apple Maps was going to get me to that car park.
Sabbatical #6: Inter-species appreciation
As we were heading down the hill, four sheep were directly across our path. Instead of dispersing, one young lamb came up to me and sniffed my hand. I felt gifted by a divine visit. Lamb of God indeed.
Sabbatical Post #5: Purple AND Orange
When we celebrate the unity in diversity, when we see how closely we are intertwined, we no longer think that purple and orange are opposed to one another. They go quite well together, and sometimes they merge into a beautiful earthy brown. They share that one blood red at their base.
Sabbatical Post #4: Catching Flowers in the Wind
On my first day on the sacred pilgrimage site on the isle of Iona, I was captivated by purple irises with fine, variegated petals—a variety I do not remember seeing…
Stay Well
We Californians are entering the third week of the stay-at-home mandate to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, and like many other people, I am collecting blessings and thanksgivings during this time…
Tidying Up
On NetFlix, I happened upon a new series starring Marie Kondo called “Tidying Up,” which is about decluttering one’s home so that one’s joy and freedom may flourish. Marie Kondo…
Coming Home to Authentic Life
Social scientists, psychologists and theologians have pointed out the importance of community and love attachments to a joyous and purpose-filled life. At the same time, they have pointed out the…
Repainting the Church
In his book Orthodoxy, G.K. Chesterton writes, “If you leave a thing alone you leave it to a torrent of change. If you leave a white post alone it will soon be…
Digging Deep for Support in Lent
I have been watching the massive construction efforts on Genesee Avenue for weeks now as the main supports for San Diego’s new trolley tracks are being placed. First a massive…
The God of Detours
How common it is to experience disappointment and a sense of abandonment by God when we adopt a course that we believed to be God’s will, only to experience it…
Preaching While White
I recently returned from an international preaching conference titled “Preaching on the Borders” in San Antonio, Texas. The conference is a combination of worship sessions with preaching from stellar preachers,…
The God of Slow Time
In January, I was the recipient of a great privilege: over three weeks of vacation and rest between my previous post at All Saints Church and my new post as rector…
Gospel on the Ground 