Halloween came early to my neighborhood last weekend. Charlie and I are renting an apartment not too far from the Javits Center. Often, we have guests from far and near walking our streets from various conventions, getting air or looking for restaurants. Last weekend, New York Comic Con was in residence, so our visitors were more colorful and more noticeable than usual.....
Last Sunday, and for the next six weeks, our Adult Education at 10 am will be focused on The Way of Love. Presiding Bishop Michael Curry has recommended this broad and adaptable Rule of Life to those of us identified with what he calls “the Episcopal branch of the Jesus Movement.” The Way includes seven practices, each meant to help us follow Jesus more intentionally and grow in God’s love: Turn, Learn, Pray, Worship, Bless, Go, Rest....
What is it about autumn? Whether we are actively engaged with the academic year or not, there is something about Labor Day weekend coming and going; something about those days where the air is just a bit crisper and we notice it getting darker a tad earlier. Maybe it’s because so many of us were students for so long or because we live in the Northeast with its distinct seasons, but it’s hard not to feel the bittersweet combination of summer’s loss and the hope that accompanies new beginnings.
I had two conversations this week that stayed with me long after they were finished. The first was with one of my sons, and the topic was the early retirement, at age 29, of NFL quarterback Andrew Luck. The second conversation was with one of my nephews, who is a rising junior in high school....
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....
