Yesterday was the day in our church calendar when we remembered Mary, mother of Jesus. Is there any female figure in Christian history who has been on the receiving end of more transference than Mary? She has been appropriated institutionally and culturally in all sorts of ways; she has been remade in the image of values held by diverse—and sometimes contradictory—times and places. She is as idealized as she is beloved.

Last week, in the Holy Apostles kitchen, Steve Turtell taught me how to make the bread we use in the Holy Eucharist at our 11 am service. It was a very hot day and I was a plebe in the process, but Steve was patient and kind and my first efforts produced a “good enough” product (still, if you experience the consecrated bread as being a bit dry over the next few weeks please forgive the inevitable learning curve!). The recipe is pretty straightforward, and once an experienced baker shares a few helpful techniques most anyone can create the bread we share in our worship together....

Even though I have lived in Manhattan a few times over the course of my life, I had never experienced a blackout here. Saturday night was a first for me; sudden darkness everywhere, low power on my phone battery, concern over the location of my sons and the constant, wailing sirens that persisted throughout the hours without electricity. The time in darkness jolted me into the awareness of what I consistently take for granted. The experience was unsettling....

A number of years ago, I remember reading an article in Sojourners Magazine written by a woman who had experienced a lifetime of struggle with her weight. She described all of it: the calorie counting, the cycling through every institutional dieting program available, the cardio and resistance workouts, her feelings of shame when she was not at her “ideal weight” and her fear that any good news (as she defined it) from the scale at her morning weigh-in would only be temporary....

The painting in the photograph below hangs in The Loveless Café—which, even though it sounds like a setting from a Carson McCullers short story, is actually a diner on the outskirts of Nashville, TN. Offerings there range from a full Country Breakfast to Fried Catfish and Barbeque. Gravy is plentiful. And the biscuits are amazing. Even people who don’t eat meat leave feeling full—very full!--and satisfied. The walls are lined with autographed photos of celebrities, many of them from the world of country music. The folks who work there make all visitors feel at home, and the line of people waiting for a table often spills out into the parking lot....

Last week, a pile of small, thin, blue strips of paper arrived at Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen. On one side was typed the name of our organization, address, a brief summary of our programs, and hours of operation filled in with a child’s handwriting. Attached to each slip of paper was a hand-made pipe cleaner flower. These small gifts came from a program called “Service in Schools,” which seeks to pair New York City public schools with volunteer opportunities....

During Eastertide, our Adult Classes have addressed the theme of “Eco-Faith.” Mother Susan and I have led discussions on creation care in Scripture and the Episcopal Church, and I talked about the journey to installing solar panels on the Parish Hall Roof at Grace Church in Hastings on Hudson. We also welcomed guest speakers: Soup Kitchen Director of Operations Michael Ottley offered updates about the zero-waste initiative at HASK. Sr. Faith Margaret from the Community of the Holy Spirit spoke about her Order’s discernment and process toward building a green convent.In sources both secular and spiritual we can find exhortations to look at change as a series of small behavioral shifts rather than one huge and immediate commitment. Research indicates that absolutes in this regard are not as successful as moving toward a new way of being and doing. This reality was a common theme throughout our recent series. The people who spoke and the narratives we explored all described dedication to caring for the environment as a process, happening step by step. The vision was there, of course, but embodied through a process of accumulated smaller actions....

If you have ever seen the movie Jerry Maguire, you probably remember that the catalyst for much of the action is a twenty-five-page document written by the main character (played by Tom Cruise) after some experiences in his work as a sports agent that disturb his conscience..... ...Our Vestry is in the process of reimagining the Mission Statement for the Church of the Holy Apostles. The incentive to do this came out of a Vestry retreat in October led by the Rev. Carol Gadsden from St. Thomas Church in Mamaroneck. She pointed out that our last Mission Statement was adopted by the Vestry in 1995. She encouraged us to revisit the document in light of the changes since, and in the intervening months we have done so. Our goal is to approve a final statement ready to share at our June Vestry meeting...

Our Lenten Adult Classes this year focused on the material in a book by John Dominic Crossan and Marcus Borg titled The Last Week: What the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus’ Final Days in Jerusalem. Inspiration to write this book hit the authors after the release of the controversial film The Passion of the Christ. In the process of responding to questions about that movie, they soon realized that very few people possessed a working knowledge of the details of what occurred between Palm Sunday and the Resurrection....