I have always loved Palm Sunday and Holy Week, ever since I was a young child. I remember going to worship on Palm Sunday with my mother and brothers. We were in Sunday school from 9 to 10 then we would help clean up the rooms moving tables and chairs and folding up the retractable … [Read more…]
In 2007 I did Field Education in a church in Braintree MA. It was a large old stone building with beautiful stained glass windows in the sanctuary. Each window depicted a different scene from the bible. The church was beautiful though did not make me think of a traditional New England Congregational Church when I … [Read more…]
We all make snap judgments all the time. We have to. Otherwise, it would take all day to make it from bed to work. The other morning my alarm went off and I had to make a judgment call to push snooze or get up and get ready for the day. Then there was the … [Read more…]
I read a lot. I have read all different types of books, each at different parts of my life and for different reasons. Some I read to increase my knowledge. Others I read to relax my brain, and still others I read to help process emotions. Then I also read to know what is going … [Read more…]
When I was in seminary, the first on campus job I had was with maintenance. It was my job to handle night watch. My basic duties were to be the on-call person on campus during none business hours. This meant opening doors to rooms for people when they locked themselves out, handling maintenance calls from … [Read more…]
When I was in my undergraduate program at Eastern Connecticut State University, I took a class called the Philosophy of Religion taught by an ex-Jesuit priest. There was a small group of us in the class, maybe 10 to 15 students. Now learning philosophy only really works if you know which questions to ask in … [Read more…]
I tend to be someone who believes that people are always giving me their best and always being honest and forth right. By nature, I have always been very trusting or gullible as my brothers would fondly tell me. This has not always bode well for me. My older brothers and sometimes friends took advantage … [Read more…]
Life can be so difficult. Humanity in general is not always compassionate, caring, generous, or just plain kind. In a world where people call each other names, bully one another online, and where there seems to be so much violence and war, it can be hard to feel hopeful. Yet this is what the season … [Read more…]
In graduate school, many years ago now, I was home visiting my parents. I loved running out by my parent’s house. It is so rural out there and just so beautiful and peaceful. Running was where I could lose the world around me, listen to some music, and talk to God. Having not grown up … [Read more…]
The dictionary says, “A spiritual practice or spiritual discipline (often including spiritual exercises) is the regular or full-time performance of actions and activities undertaken for the purpose of inducing spiritual experiences and cultivating spiritual development”. Spiritual practices are more than about prayer. They are not necessarily defined by how one acts in church but rather they can be anything that gives someone a spiritual experience. … [Read more…]
