Today on NPR, I heard a discussion of “Ethical Wills.” The idea is that, in addition to leaving material possessions in a will or trust, we leave for those in future generations a statement of our ethical values. It is an opportunity to pass on what we truly value, believe, and hold dear. A guest [...]
Archive for May, 2007
Ethical Wills
Posted in Ethical Wills, NPR, Religious Community, Spiritual, community, progressive church on May 30, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Religious Community and the Church
Posted in Loretto Community, Mechtild of Magdeburg, Medieval Women Mystics, Religious Community, Sacred Spaces, Spiritual, Urban Church, community, progressive church on May 28, 2007 | 1 Comment »
Mechtild of Magdeburg, 13th century mystic, longed to live in religious community. As a young woman she applied to a traditional convent; however she was unwilling to take the accepted route in which a young woman was brought to the convent by her parents who gave a significant dowry. Mechtild chose to apply on [...]
Thanks for Firefox!
Posted in Firefox, Technical blog issues on May 26, 2007 | 1 Comment »
I’ve been unable to access the posting/writing part of “Faithstones” for several days since suddenly everytime I would click on “write” or “post” my Safari web browser would crash. It was awful! Then the good folks at WordPress apologized for the problem, told me they were working on it and suggested a couple of [...]
Iona Longing
Posted in Iona, Sacred Spaces, Spiritual, community on May 21, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
At this time last May I was a resident in the Abbey on Iona. It is difficult to describe the longing, yearning I have for that place. This past Saturday, I was so intensely aware of the feeling on that Saturday a year ago when I first saw Iona and then walked from [...]
An Open Invitation?
Posted in Sacred Spaces, Spiritual, Urban Church, community, progressive church on May 21, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Sunday worship in this inner city congregation is full of surprises. Some days, I confess, more than I can imagine. Yesterday, I left church wondering what was happening; what God was doing in the events of the morning. In our Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) tradition, worship includes a “Call to Discipleship” [...]
Teaching Congregations and Seminarians
Posted in Eden Theological Seminary, Seminary Students, Spiritual, Teaching Congregations, Theological Field Education, Urban Church, progressive church on May 14, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
This past Sunday our congregation held the farewell celebration for our Student Associate Pastor as he concludes his ministry with us and prepares to graduate from Seminary at the end of this week. Parting with wonderful students always brings a certain sadness; the congregation will miss the gifts they share and I, as pastor, [...]
My Heart is on Iona
Posted in Iona, Sacred Spaces, Spiritual, Urban Church, community, progressive church on May 8, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
At this time a year ago, I was on a sabbatical graciously funded by the Lilly Endowment. Dave and I were able to spend a month of that sabbatical time with communities of prayer and hospitality in the United Kingdom. Our three planned visits were 1) St. Botolph Aldgate Church in London, a [...]
Patience in the Garden
Posted in Church Garden, Gardening, Spiritual, Urban Church, progressive church on May 4, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
These are the days of spring when I can hardly stand to remain inside. All I want to do is garden. I want to feel the sun and touch the earth. I want to watch the new buds breaking through day by day. This year is particularly exciting because the church is creating [...]
Community of Faith
Posted in Spiritual, Urban Church, community, progressive church on May 1, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
I pastor an urban congregation in the heart of St. Louis city. The church is located on a main street that is both residential and business. The community around the church is racially and economically mixed, with about 40% African-American, 40% European-American, and 20% Asian and African. This church has been in this community for [...]
