Mister Rogers invited a young boy to play piano. Mr. Rogers sat beside the piano, fully present to the child and to the music. He watched the child’s face and never once looked at his hands, his fingers dashing over the keys, his technique of lifting his wrists just so. He was not interested in […]
I come from a winter people. My mother’s family is from Norway and I grew up in Rochester, NY where “lake affect” snow buried us every winter. Cold, snow and gray skies feel like home. This has been a great winter for New England. We missed the blizzards which pounded New York City and Washington, […]
What does it mean to be Christian? We teach our children that it means being nice, being kind, and that’s a good place to begin. But I worry when adults take that childhood teaching about nice Christianity and use it to enable others. Codependency is not a Christian virtue. When I have preached on Jesus’ […]
If only we could learn the causes of violence. In a recent column Motive of destruction, (Boston Globe 1/8/14) Daniel Benjamin writes about terrorism, bombings and mass shootings. It now appears that the Boston marathon was not an organized act of terrorism, but rather the work of a mentally unstable young man and his brother. […]
One… What to buy to surprise your child? What to purchase to surprise your spouse? What to wrap to surprise your parents? We shop and plan and bake and wrap. Searching for that perfect gift that our friend both wants and will be surprised to receive, we hunt through malls, pore through catalogues, and listen […]
Rainbow Grace: Stories of Hope and Triumph, this collection comprised my latest presentation of stories. To my delight I was invited to premiere this production at the banquet of the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists in celebration of their 20th anniversary. There was music, photography of fabulous looking couples, a lucious dinner and dessert. […]
Thich Nhat Hanh visited Copley Square in Boston. Thousands of people came to be in the presence of the great Zen Buddhist monk. They gathered, they sat down, they expectantly waited, and for 25 minutes there was as close to sheer silence as an urban center could be. I love this idea of silence as […]
“How has your summer been?” she asked. The question on everyone’s lips this week after Labor Day. I told her about the great time I had on a 30-day silent retreat. “Wait, you were silent – for how long?” 30 days. She shook her head with a “better you then me, sister” smile. This happens […]
At the Bull Feeney pub in Portland, I heard Kate Chadbourne tell stories, sing songs, play the Irish harp. The evening was magical and the room was lit with love. Kate has written 40 well wishes in the last year. She has set up a web site www.wellwishingsongs.com on which people may request a well […]
The spiritual life is this simple: pay attention to life around you. However, such spiritual focus is not without effort. We are so easily distracted. We multi-task. We text, talk and travel. We acheive, accomplish and aquire. What will it take for you to pay attention to the world around you? Did you see the […]