A Communal Cruciform Life

       In the Fall of 2019, the Rev. Michael Vollman, who ministers to Trinity Episcopal Church in Russellville, Kentucky, invited a small group of clergy from the western half of our diocese for a tour of the SEEK Museum. The SEEK Museum[1] works to uncover the stories of enslavement, freedom, equality, and justice for BlackContinue reading “A Communal Cruciform Life”

Thy Kingdom Come

Over 120 years ago, a fictional Irish character, Mr. Dooley, was written by Finely Peter Dunne, and he penned one of the best summaries of the preacher’s job as he went into a rant about the state of newspapers these days. Christian leaders back in 1902, were quick to lift the phrase, “afflict the comfortable,Continue reading “Thy Kingdom Come”

Transformation of Forgiveness

One of my deepest held beliefs is that pretty much everything is “figure-outable;” almost everything in this life we can figure out if we have the time, talent, or tools. When I first started hiking, I didn’t know how trails worked or what blazes were, but through experience, I learned. The first things I plantedContinue reading “Transformation of Forgiveness”

Church is a Group Project

This sermon can be listened to here: Church is a Group Project             When I add up the years, my life has essentially run on an academic calendar since I was 5-years-old; between my primary schooling, secondary education, the years I taught Pre-K, seminary, and now my work as a Campus Minister, I love theContinue reading “Church is a Group Project”

Faith Like the Ocean

       In his short, poetic book named Pond River Ocean Rain: Find Peace in the Storms of Life, Charles Lattimore Howard reflects on how God can perhaps best be understood as Water. He writes that there are times when God sometimes shows up in our lives as a calm pond, and sometimes, God is bestContinue reading “Faith Like the Ocean”

Bad News, Good News

            Before you can even make out the words being spoken, the Kentucky accent rolls out of the speakers, to ask the question, “Who would you say is the most important person in your life?” “Definitely my mother,” answers the even deeper accent of Wanda Jean as she told a story about the love herContinue reading “Bad News, Good News”

Being the Good Soil

When I bought my house, the first thing I wanted to do was get a garden growing, and the first seeds I planted at my house were wildflowers. In preparation, I spent countless hours pulling the crabgrass that makes up my lawn and to my dismay truly nothing seemed to stop this powerfully rooted enemyContinue reading “Being the Good Soil”

The Next Right Step

One of my most valuable lessons from my Sabbatical last summer wherein which I got to walk the Camino across northern Spain, is the critical importance of what I’ve come to call “despair breaks.” A despair break allows a bit of a pause before a breakdown when one is overwhelmed; it takes up space andContinue reading “The Next Right Step”

Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer

            One of my very favorite phrases in this world is, “More is caught than taught.” I first learned it when I was a preschool teacher, and it consistently rang true. If I sat crisscross-applesauce on the carpet ready for Circle Time with my hands in my lap, soon the kids would follow. If IContinue reading “Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer”

Do Not Leave Us Comfortless

As a kid, I was sort of always sick. I can tell the big stories, like how one year when decorating a live Christmas tree with my family, I stopped breathing and rushed to the hospital. And the boring stories like shortly having to go every Saturday morning to get three different allergy shots everyContinue reading “Do Not Leave Us Comfortless”