Consumption versus Creation

Hello from a hospital waiting room, Before you worry, it is not for me. I am visiting. It’s been a fabulous couple days weather wise, and the weekend predicts more of the same. It might be the nicest 4-5 day stretch I remember in a very long time. The nights have not required the AC,Continue reading “Consumption versus Creation”

Is it Choice or Something Other?

Hello from the Eastern Shore, The next month or two seems likely to be a bit hectic, but I am working diligently to get the ducks-in-a-row. I am still trying to catch some of them, but that will happen. Last evening I had dinner with a friend and we had the most wonderful chat aboutContinue reading “Is it Choice or Something Other?”

Unending Love; Amazing Grace

Hello from Cape Charles, Seldom does a week pass that I do not have moments where something reminds me of my grandmother. And certainly memories of her, her being my mother the early years of my life, my employer in high school, and my protector of sorts until she passed illustrates how much influence sheContinue reading “Unending Love; Amazing Grace”

Begin with One True Sentence

Hello as I wait for my seating, It’s a Monday midsummer, and it’s a warm one. It reminds me of summer days when as a child I would lay on the bed in the front screened-in porch of my parent’s house and read a book. I was fortunate that the neighborhood Public Library was onlyContinue reading “Begin with One True Sentence”

Che Guevara and Luigi Mangione

Good morning from the coffee klatch, While driving to get blood work done this morning, I was listening to NPR, and the story airing was about Luigi Mangioni, the young man charged with the killing of Brian Young, the late CEO of United Healthcare. What an interesting story about the national response to this youngContinue reading “Che Guevara and Luigi Mangione”

Chevelles, Harleys, and Bugs

Hello from the outside table at the local Starbucks, It’s a great morning, starting out cool and pleasant, though now the humidity and heat are both on the rise, so it’s a typical June, nearly summer, day in Pennsylvania (btw, do you know that this is the only state where both the abbreviation of PAContinue reading “Chevelles, Harleys, and Bugs”

Why Respect Matters

Hello from the diner, When I come to the diner today, I remember how this family establishment has become part of the collective memory of my time in Bloomsburg. There was a period where I was here most every morning and names like Dave, Doug, or Father Fennessy, seated at the left counter as youContinue reading “Why Respect Matters”

To Lament or To Learn

Hello from the micro-acre, The summer I did my Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) at St. Luke’s in my hometown of Sioux City, there was a lot on my plate. I had been diagnosed with what then was determined to be Ulcerative Colitis, I was on leave from the seminary, was planning a wedding at theContinue reading “To Lament or To Learn”

Where Do We Find You?

Hello from Bloomsburg, It’s Friday, and it’s been a week of extremes when it comes to what I was planning for and what I was not. It began with the Memorial Day, and I was fortunate to attend the commemoration of veterans at one of the most well-kept of area cemeteries. The event was nicelyContinue reading “Where Do We Find You?”

The Dangers of Faithfulness

Hello from Pennsylvania, and the hope that spring will still arrive, I, as former pastor, a life-long Lutheran, somewhat a Bonhoeffer scholar, and a person who believes deeply in the power of the sacraments, placing the word dangers and faithfulness as something consequential of the other might seem confusing. And yet let me begin here:Continue reading “The Dangers of Faithfulness”