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The little things …

May 23, 2011 By Leave a Comment
enjoythelittlethings

1 Peter 2:2-10 A couple of weeks ago, I went on a rather convoluted trip covering six states in 60 hours. This is what I do: I’m a missionary who travels constantly to preach and teach and witness. Halfway through my trip, I discovered that I somehow had managed to lose my Kindle. Y’all know what a Kindle is, right? It’s the Amazon e-reader that literally changed my life as a missionary. It kept me sane and kept me company when I was alone, a stranger in a strange land. I’m very partial to my Kindle. I have about 400 books on it, and it has traveled the world with me. … [Read more...]

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In defense of seminaries

May 19, 2011 By 6 Comments
Peanuts 1967

(Written for Episcopal Cafe) Tis the season for graduations, including those at seminaries across the United States. Within a matter of a few short weeks, Christian churches will be flooded with hundreds of new graduates, most newly ordained, to serve as ministers. It should be a time of great celebration … unless, of course, you read Jerry Bowyer on Forbes.com. According to Mr. Bowyer, all these graduations, all these newly ordained clergy, are not a matter of rejoicing but of sorrow. Mr. Bowyer claims, in columns published on April 20 and May 11, that seminary is, basically, a … [Read more...]

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Risky business

May 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Risky business wordle

John 10:1-10 It is odd, in the midst of Easter season, to be thrust back into the life and times of Jesus as he walks purposefully toward Jerusalem and his death, to hear again his words, not as the Risen Lord, but as the itinerant rabbi from Nazareth, castigating those in power, telling stories that no one can really understand. But this is where we are on this 4th Sunday of Easter. No resurrection story for us this day: Rather, a return to the teachings of Jesus, the teaching of the Good Shepherd, of Jesus being both the good shepherd and the gate to the sheepfold. Now, we could … [Read more...]

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Walk on, walk on …

May 10, 2011 By Leave a Comment
niger

Luke 24:13-35 (Before the service at St. Philip’s, I was introduced to the congregation as a former missionary in Haiti. I also had gotten lost on the way to church, and had to ask for help getting there.) Before I served as a missionary in Haiti, I served in Sudan, in the Diocese of Renk, for four years. While I was there, I lived on the border between the North and South, on the border between Arabs and blacks, on the border between Muslims and Christians. It was a very tense time, because the civil war had just ended and they were beginning their movement toward independence, which … [Read more...]

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Pansies and ‘pistos’

May 1, 2011 By 1 Comment
pansies1

John 20:19-31 Last Wednesday night, I was at an Episcopal church for the installation of the new rector. I sat in a pew with the rest of the clergy, and at one point during the service, the priest next to me reached over and pulled out a card that had been filled out by someone and returned to the pew holder. It was a newcomer’s card – you know, the kind where the parish welcomes you and asks you to share some information about yourself. These cards are supposed to go into the offering plate, but this person put it back in the holder. Because the writer didn’t actually offer the usual … [Read more...]

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