The gloomy sky and biting wind only deepened the sense of foreboding in the air on the morning of Jan. 6, 2021. Apprehension had been growing in Washington for weeks as news continued to spread that supporters of Donald Trump,…
Three steps toward contemplation in social justice action
“He who attempts to act and do things for others or for the world without deepening his own self-understanding, freedom, integrity and capacity to love, will not have anything to give others.” ~ Thomas Merton It’s an understandable declaration: “Praying…
Words matter. What if the source of our words matters as much as the words themselves?
Faced with the overwhelming abundance and appalling emptiness of human speech these days, something inside me wants to follow Job’s lead and “lay my hand over my mouth.”
Illuminations: The healing space between ‘good’ and ‘bad’
While scrolling through the pages of the Illumination Project Committee report, my opinion pile began to grow: Good decision; bad decision. I like this; I don’t like that. This is progressive; that is regressive. But as I quieted my own internal committee and let myself become still, I felt the Spirit pressing a cool cloth to my fevered, dualistic mind. “God is at work and more will be revealed” is the word that came.
I’ll be somewhere else for Christmas
In December of 1998 my father made an unusual holiday journey. Less than a year earlier he’d been diagnosed with melanoma which eventually laid siege to his brain. After fruitless rounds of chemotherapy and gamma knife treatments, Dad had a…
Elections and earthquakes: Discovering the unshakable
I have the interesting assignment of writing this column the day before the presidential election that won’t be published until the day after we head to the polls. I don’t mind. Writing offers a welcome break from the hourly task…
Calling our people into stillness is a subversive act
On a recent Thursday, my day off, I was in my pajamas, sipping coffee and reading the news on my computer when I received a text from my spiritual director, Charlotte: “You on your way?” It was 10:10 a.m. When…
Relax your grip and you can go for miles
For most of my vocational life I’ve had to do battle with the overwhelming need to prove myself. This may have something to do with where I land on the Enneagram. As my fellow Threes will testify, “I succeed, therefore…
Grounded enough to notice when Jesus shows up
I love the city. I first fell in love with metropolitan life as a 20-something pastor in San Francisco. Now, years later, while I still retreat to the mountains or desert or ocean for some extra peace and inspiration, “urban”…