Singing Along the Journey

baptism

The unasked and unanswered question…why?

I don't know why I was surprised at the ask...I know what time of year it is.  We welcome yet another class of bright disciples of all ages and stripes to the seminary each year at this time, as the summer heat here in Washington tightens its hold on us all in that last gasp of summer's torment I know so well.  I should know just by the weather that it is that time when I am asked to stand and speak to that new class about my philosophy as a writer and as an editor in the Writing Center. Each year, after I have spoken, I am always shocked…
Read More

Holding and being held…with God’s help

Apparently, May is a milestone month for me.   It was in May, too long ago to mention the date, that I was first baptized and confirmed at the Ruskin Heights Presbyterian Church. I was 12 years old. And then, it was in May of 2010, that I was, as the Baptists say, licensed to the Gospel ministry, something more akin to becoming an elder in the Presbyterian Church or a Deacon in other traditions, a type of recognition of ministry without the necessary academic degrees. So you will not be surprised when I say that it was in May 2014, after a decision to pursue a seminary education (a decision…
Read More

Who are you…and why do you do it?

That question...I've written about it before.  And again, before.  And I most assuredly write about it again. Truly, it is a theme through most of what I (well, not just me) do...this idea of our identity, as people of faith, as people who live an incarnated existence, as followers of Jesus.  It is a question to which I do not expect to find an answer that endures for long; the answer has always been, for me, a moving target, often changing slightly with each breath that I take. So, obviously, when I hear the words of John 1:19-28, well, I just cannot help but consider the question again.  Where do…
Read More

Will you hear my confession?

I am not one to write about current events.  I have no pulpit; I am not a public figure.  And so, usually, I consider that what I have to say about the state of the world is, well, for the small circle of those around me, family, friends, acquaintances.    I stand by my belief that we are all -- ALL -- God's children and worthy of the love that is offered us.  And yes, I know that not all are willing or capable of accepting that love and the responsibilities that come with it.  That may be, for me, the ultimate definition of the word evil -- because that…
Read More

I will, with God’s help…

Seven years ago today, I was baptized into the community known as the Calvary Baptist Church.  Each year since then, on this date, I have taken time to reflect on that day and all that has followed, and generally, I've written something maybe meaningful, maybe...and shared it with all of you.  I really thought that I would let today pass without mention this year, but apparently that will not be the case. If there is any lesson that comes with living a few years, it is this -- that what we think to be constant and solid in our lives almost always proves to be as transitory as the dust…
Read More

With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation…

Gaudate Sunday...today is an  important anniversary for me.  Six years ago this very morning, around 11:10 a.m., I was baptized for a second time in my adult life.  That day in December was, like today, the third Sunday of Advent, also in the Lectionary cycle Year C.  That day in December, I joined the Calvary Baptist Church and embraced a form of Christian and community identity based in the Baptist distinctives,  a group of beliefs about individual and community practice  that is best described by the charter covenant of the Alliance of Baptists.  It has been the lens through which I have understood my life in Christ for almost ten years now,…
Read More

A Nostalgic Kind of Holy Day…

I find myself, each Maundy Thursday, feeling, well -- nostalgic.   Yes,  I am moved deeply by the invitation to walk alongside Jesus through this most difficult and yet most glorious part of his story and our story together.   This day, however, forms an intricate piece of my own story as a person and as a disciple, one of those places where my own story intersects with the story of the Christ in unusual ways. Let's go back to the beginning --  my own beginning, that is.  You see, my parents had a difficult relationship with the idea of church after the death of my brother.  My earliest memories…
Read More

Onward…

Having spent most of my years as a communicator of some kind, words are important to me.  If you combine that life experience with a good ten years spent in a worship community in which the song that lead into prayer during worship went like this, Our thoughts our prayers And we are always praying Our thoughts our prayers Take charge of what you are saying Seek a higher consciousness A state of peacefulness And know that God is always there. And every thought becomes a prayer. and you have, well me -- someone who over and over again examines the use of words that many people assume have a…
Read More

Five years later…

It has been five years.  Five years since I put on that worn out white robe and climbed those creaky, ancient stairs to the baptismal at the Calvary Baptist Church (only pausing long enough along the way to share with the pastor that I was deathly afraid of water).  Five years ago, for the second time in my life, I was baptized.  This time it wasn't a sprinkle of water, it was baptism by full immersion.  And it was well worth facing my desperate fear of water. I am, quite naturally, a person who remembers anniversaries, and so each year on this date I have stopped to consider my baptism.…
Read More

The storm is passing over…

This morning my musical brain is full of the sounds of Charles Tindley's hymn (recast in its popular gospel arrangement), "The Storm is Passing Over" and this is not a random soundtrack for this day.  It is, in fact, a welcome, blessed message from my soul that I have been waiting a long time to hear, a message that as recently as yesterday seemed impossible. You see, yesterday was the one year anniversary of my seizure while travelling in Israel, the first recognizable symptom of the congenital heart valve defect that I had been living with for all these years.  It was the beginning of the long journey through doctors…
Read More

The unasked and unanswered question…why?

I don't know why I was surprised at the ask...I know what time of year it is.  We welcome yet another class of bright disciples of all ages and stripes to the seminary each year at this time, as the summer heat here in Washington tightens its hold on us all in that last gasp of summer's torment I know so well.  I should know just by the weather that it is that time when I am asked to stand and speak to that new class about my philosophy as a writer and as an editor in the Writing Center. Each year, after I have spoken, I am always shocked…
Read More

Holding and being held…with God’s help

Apparently, May is a milestone month for me.   It was in May, too long ago to mention the date, that I was first baptized and confirmed at the Ruskin Heights Presbyterian Church. I was 12 years old. And then, it was in May of 2010, that I was, as the Baptists say, licensed to the Gospel ministry, something more akin to becoming an elder in the Presbyterian Church or a Deacon in other traditions, a type of recognition of ministry without the necessary academic degrees. So you will not be surprised when I say that it was in May 2014, after a decision to pursue a seminary education (a decision…
Read More

Who are you…and why do you do it?

That question...I've written about it before.  And again, before.  And I most assuredly write about it again. Truly, it is a theme through most of what I (well, not just me) do...this idea of our identity, as people of faith, as people who live an incarnated existence, as followers of Jesus.  It is a question to which I do not expect to find an answer that endures for long; the answer has always been, for me, a moving target, often changing slightly with each breath that I take. So, obviously, when I hear the words of John 1:19-28, well, I just cannot help but consider the question again.  Where do…
Read More

Will you hear my confession?

I am not one to write about current events.  I have no pulpit; I am not a public figure.  And so, usually, I consider that what I have to say about the state of the world is, well, for the small circle of those around me, family, friends, acquaintances.    I stand by my belief that we are all -- ALL -- God's children and worthy of the love that is offered us.  And yes, I know that not all are willing or capable of accepting that love and the responsibilities that come with it.  That may be, for me, the ultimate definition of the word evil -- because that…
Read More

I will, with God’s help…

Seven years ago today, I was baptized into the community known as the Calvary Baptist Church.  Each year since then, on this date, I have taken time to reflect on that day and all that has followed, and generally, I've written something maybe meaningful, maybe...and shared it with all of you.  I really thought that I would let today pass without mention this year, but apparently that will not be the case. If there is any lesson that comes with living a few years, it is this -- that what we think to be constant and solid in our lives almost always proves to be as transitory as the dust…
Read More

With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation…

Gaudate Sunday...today is an  important anniversary for me.  Six years ago this very morning, around 11:10 a.m., I was baptized for a second time in my adult life.  That day in December was, like today, the third Sunday of Advent, also in the Lectionary cycle Year C.  That day in December, I joined the Calvary Baptist Church and embraced a form of Christian and community identity based in the Baptist distinctives,  a group of beliefs about individual and community practice  that is best described by the charter covenant of the Alliance of Baptists.  It has been the lens through which I have understood my life in Christ for almost ten years now,…
Read More

A Nostalgic Kind of Holy Day…

I find myself, each Maundy Thursday, feeling, well -- nostalgic.   Yes,  I am moved deeply by the invitation to walk alongside Jesus through this most difficult and yet most glorious part of his story and our story together.   This day, however, forms an intricate piece of my own story as a person and as a disciple, one of those places where my own story intersects with the story of the Christ in unusual ways. Let's go back to the beginning --  my own beginning, that is.  You see, my parents had a difficult relationship with the idea of church after the death of my brother.  My earliest memories…
Read More

Onward…

Having spent most of my years as a communicator of some kind, words are important to me.  If you combine that life experience with a good ten years spent in a worship community in which the song that lead into prayer during worship went like this, Our thoughts our prayers And we are always praying Our thoughts our prayers Take charge of what you are saying Seek a higher consciousness A state of peacefulness And know that God is always there. And every thought becomes a prayer. and you have, well me -- someone who over and over again examines the use of words that many people assume have a…
Read More

Five years later…

It has been five years.  Five years since I put on that worn out white robe and climbed those creaky, ancient stairs to the baptismal at the Calvary Baptist Church (only pausing long enough along the way to share with the pastor that I was deathly afraid of water).  Five years ago, for the second time in my life, I was baptized.  This time it wasn't a sprinkle of water, it was baptism by full immersion.  And it was well worth facing my desperate fear of water. I am, quite naturally, a person who remembers anniversaries, and so each year on this date I have stopped to consider my baptism.…
Read More

The storm is passing over…

This morning my musical brain is full of the sounds of Charles Tindley's hymn (recast in its popular gospel arrangement), "The Storm is Passing Over" and this is not a random soundtrack for this day.  It is, in fact, a welcome, blessed message from my soul that I have been waiting a long time to hear, a message that as recently as yesterday seemed impossible. You see, yesterday was the one year anniversary of my seizure while travelling in Israel, the first recognizable symptom of the congenital heart valve defect that I had been living with for all these years.  It was the beginning of the long journey through doctors…
Read More

The unasked and unanswered question…why?

I don't know why I was surprised at the ask...I know what time of year it is.  We welcome yet another class of bright disciples of all ages and stripes to the seminary each year at this time, as the summer heat here in Washington tightens its hold on us all in that last gasp of summer's torment I know so well.  I should know just by the weather that it is that time when I am asked to stand and speak to that new class about my philosophy as a writer and as an editor in the Writing Center. Each year, after I have spoken, I am always shocked…
Read More

Holding and being held…with God’s help

Apparently, May is a milestone month for me.   It was in May, too long ago to mention the date, that I was first baptized and confirmed at the Ruskin Heights Presbyterian Church. I was 12 years old. And then, it was in May of 2010, that I was, as the Baptists say, licensed to the Gospel ministry, something more akin to becoming an elder in the Presbyterian Church or a Deacon in other traditions, a type of recognition of ministry without the necessary academic degrees. So you will not be surprised when I say that it was in May 2014, after a decision to pursue a seminary education (a decision…
Read More

Who are you…and why do you do it?

That question...I've written about it before.  And again, before.  And I most assuredly write about it again. Truly, it is a theme through most of what I (well, not just me) do...this idea of our identity, as people of faith, as people who live an incarnated existence, as followers of Jesus.  It is a question to which I do not expect to find an answer that endures for long; the answer has always been, for me, a moving target, often changing slightly with each breath that I take. So, obviously, when I hear the words of John 1:19-28, well, I just cannot help but consider the question again.  Where do…
Read More

Will you hear my confession?

I am not one to write about current events.  I have no pulpit; I am not a public figure.  And so, usually, I consider that what I have to say about the state of the world is, well, for the small circle of those around me, family, friends, acquaintances.    I stand by my belief that we are all -- ALL -- God's children and worthy of the love that is offered us.  And yes, I know that not all are willing or capable of accepting that love and the responsibilities that come with it.  That may be, for me, the ultimate definition of the word evil -- because that…
Read More

I will, with God’s help…

Seven years ago today, I was baptized into the community known as the Calvary Baptist Church.  Each year since then, on this date, I have taken time to reflect on that day and all that has followed, and generally, I've written something maybe meaningful, maybe...and shared it with all of you.  I really thought that I would let today pass without mention this year, but apparently that will not be the case. If there is any lesson that comes with living a few years, it is this -- that what we think to be constant and solid in our lives almost always proves to be as transitory as the dust…
Read More

With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation…

Gaudate Sunday...today is an  important anniversary for me.  Six years ago this very morning, around 11:10 a.m., I was baptized for a second time in my adult life.  That day in December was, like today, the third Sunday of Advent, also in the Lectionary cycle Year C.  That day in December, I joined the Calvary Baptist Church and embraced a form of Christian and community identity based in the Baptist distinctives,  a group of beliefs about individual and community practice  that is best described by the charter covenant of the Alliance of Baptists.  It has been the lens through which I have understood my life in Christ for almost ten years now,…
Read More

A Nostalgic Kind of Holy Day…

I find myself, each Maundy Thursday, feeling, well -- nostalgic.   Yes,  I am moved deeply by the invitation to walk alongside Jesus through this most difficult and yet most glorious part of his story and our story together.   This day, however, forms an intricate piece of my own story as a person and as a disciple, one of those places where my own story intersects with the story of the Christ in unusual ways. Let's go back to the beginning --  my own beginning, that is.  You see, my parents had a difficult relationship with the idea of church after the death of my brother.  My earliest memories…
Read More

Onward…

Having spent most of my years as a communicator of some kind, words are important to me.  If you combine that life experience with a good ten years spent in a worship community in which the song that lead into prayer during worship went like this, Our thoughts our prayers And we are always praying Our thoughts our prayers Take charge of what you are saying Seek a higher consciousness A state of peacefulness And know that God is always there. And every thought becomes a prayer. and you have, well me -- someone who over and over again examines the use of words that many people assume have a…
Read More

Five years later…

It has been five years.  Five years since I put on that worn out white robe and climbed those creaky, ancient stairs to the baptismal at the Calvary Baptist Church (only pausing long enough along the way to share with the pastor that I was deathly afraid of water).  Five years ago, for the second time in my life, I was baptized.  This time it wasn't a sprinkle of water, it was baptism by full immersion.  And it was well worth facing my desperate fear of water. I am, quite naturally, a person who remembers anniversaries, and so each year on this date I have stopped to consider my baptism.…
Read More

The storm is passing over…

This morning my musical brain is full of the sounds of Charles Tindley's hymn (recast in its popular gospel arrangement), "The Storm is Passing Over" and this is not a random soundtrack for this day.  It is, in fact, a welcome, blessed message from my soul that I have been waiting a long time to hear, a message that as recently as yesterday seemed impossible. You see, yesterday was the one year anniversary of my seizure while travelling in Israel, the first recognizable symptom of the congenital heart valve defect that I had been living with for all these years.  It was the beginning of the long journey through doctors…
Read More

The unasked and unanswered question…why?

I don't know why I was surprised at the ask...I know what time of year it is.  We welcome yet another class of bright disciples of all ages and stripes to the seminary each year at this time, as the summer heat here in Washington tightens its hold on us all in that last gasp of summer's torment I know so well.  I should know just by the weather that it is that time when I am asked to stand and speak to that new class about my philosophy as a writer and as an editor in the Writing Center. Each year, after I have spoken, I am always shocked…
Read More

Holding and being held…with God’s help

Apparently, May is a milestone month for me.   It was in May, too long ago to mention the date, that I was first baptized and confirmed at the Ruskin Heights Presbyterian Church. I was 12 years old. And then, it was in May of 2010, that I was, as the Baptists say, licensed to the Gospel ministry, something more akin to becoming an elder in the Presbyterian Church or a Deacon in other traditions, a type of recognition of ministry without the necessary academic degrees. So you will not be surprised when I say that it was in May 2014, after a decision to pursue a seminary education (a decision…
Read More

Who are you…and why do you do it?

That question...I've written about it before.  And again, before.  And I most assuredly write about it again. Truly, it is a theme through most of what I (well, not just me) do...this idea of our identity, as people of faith, as people who live an incarnated existence, as followers of Jesus.  It is a question to which I do not expect to find an answer that endures for long; the answer has always been, for me, a moving target, often changing slightly with each breath that I take. So, obviously, when I hear the words of John 1:19-28, well, I just cannot help but consider the question again.  Where do…
Read More

Will you hear my confession?

I am not one to write about current events.  I have no pulpit; I am not a public figure.  And so, usually, I consider that what I have to say about the state of the world is, well, for the small circle of those around me, family, friends, acquaintances.    I stand by my belief that we are all -- ALL -- God's children and worthy of the love that is offered us.  And yes, I know that not all are willing or capable of accepting that love and the responsibilities that come with it.  That may be, for me, the ultimate definition of the word evil -- because that…
Read More

I will, with God’s help…

Seven years ago today, I was baptized into the community known as the Calvary Baptist Church.  Each year since then, on this date, I have taken time to reflect on that day and all that has followed, and generally, I've written something maybe meaningful, maybe...and shared it with all of you.  I really thought that I would let today pass without mention this year, but apparently that will not be the case. If there is any lesson that comes with living a few years, it is this -- that what we think to be constant and solid in our lives almost always proves to be as transitory as the dust…
Read More

With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation…

Gaudate Sunday...today is an  important anniversary for me.  Six years ago this very morning, around 11:10 a.m., I was baptized for a second time in my adult life.  That day in December was, like today, the third Sunday of Advent, also in the Lectionary cycle Year C.  That day in December, I joined the Calvary Baptist Church and embraced a form of Christian and community identity based in the Baptist distinctives,  a group of beliefs about individual and community practice  that is best described by the charter covenant of the Alliance of Baptists.  It has been the lens through which I have understood my life in Christ for almost ten years now,…
Read More

A Nostalgic Kind of Holy Day…

I find myself, each Maundy Thursday, feeling, well -- nostalgic.   Yes,  I am moved deeply by the invitation to walk alongside Jesus through this most difficult and yet most glorious part of his story and our story together.   This day, however, forms an intricate piece of my own story as a person and as a disciple, one of those places where my own story intersects with the story of the Christ in unusual ways. Let's go back to the beginning --  my own beginning, that is.  You see, my parents had a difficult relationship with the idea of church after the death of my brother.  My earliest memories…
Read More

Onward…

Having spent most of my years as a communicator of some kind, words are important to me.  If you combine that life experience with a good ten years spent in a worship community in which the song that lead into prayer during worship went like this, Our thoughts our prayers And we are always praying Our thoughts our prayers Take charge of what you are saying Seek a higher consciousness A state of peacefulness And know that God is always there. And every thought becomes a prayer. and you have, well me -- someone who over and over again examines the use of words that many people assume have a…
Read More

Five years later…

It has been five years.  Five years since I put on that worn out white robe and climbed those creaky, ancient stairs to the baptismal at the Calvary Baptist Church (only pausing long enough along the way to share with the pastor that I was deathly afraid of water).  Five years ago, for the second time in my life, I was baptized.  This time it wasn't a sprinkle of water, it was baptism by full immersion.  And it was well worth facing my desperate fear of water. I am, quite naturally, a person who remembers anniversaries, and so each year on this date I have stopped to consider my baptism.…
Read More

The storm is passing over…

This morning my musical brain is full of the sounds of Charles Tindley's hymn (recast in its popular gospel arrangement), "The Storm is Passing Over" and this is not a random soundtrack for this day.  It is, in fact, a welcome, blessed message from my soul that I have been waiting a long time to hear, a message that as recently as yesterday seemed impossible. You see, yesterday was the one year anniversary of my seizure while travelling in Israel, the first recognizable symptom of the congenital heart valve defect that I had been living with for all these years.  It was the beginning of the long journey through doctors…
Read More

The unasked and unanswered question…why?

I don't know why I was surprised at the ask...I know what time of year it is.  We welcome yet another class of bright disciples of all ages and stripes to the seminary each year at this time, as the summer heat here in Washington tightens its hold on us all in that last gasp of summer's torment I know so well.  I should know just by the weather that it is that time when I am asked to stand and speak to that new class about my philosophy as a writer and as an editor in the Writing Center. Each year, after I have spoken, I am always shocked…
Read More

Holding and being held…with God’s help

Apparently, May is a milestone month for me.   It was in May, too long ago to mention the date, that I was first baptized and confirmed at the Ruskin Heights Presbyterian Church. I was 12 years old. And then, it was in May of 2010, that I was, as the Baptists say, licensed to the Gospel ministry, something more akin to becoming an elder in the Presbyterian Church or a Deacon in other traditions, a type of recognition of ministry without the necessary academic degrees. So you will not be surprised when I say that it was in May 2014, after a decision to pursue a seminary education (a decision…
Read More

Who are you…and why do you do it?

That question...I've written about it before.  And again, before.  And I most assuredly write about it again. Truly, it is a theme through most of what I (well, not just me) do...this idea of our identity, as people of faith, as people who live an incarnated existence, as followers of Jesus.  It is a question to which I do not expect to find an answer that endures for long; the answer has always been, for me, a moving target, often changing slightly with each breath that I take. So, obviously, when I hear the words of John 1:19-28, well, I just cannot help but consider the question again.  Where do…
Read More

Will you hear my confession?

I am not one to write about current events.  I have no pulpit; I am not a public figure.  And so, usually, I consider that what I have to say about the state of the world is, well, for the small circle of those around me, family, friends, acquaintances.    I stand by my belief that we are all -- ALL -- God's children and worthy of the love that is offered us.  And yes, I know that not all are willing or capable of accepting that love and the responsibilities that come with it.  That may be, for me, the ultimate definition of the word evil -- because that…
Read More

I will, with God’s help…

Seven years ago today, I was baptized into the community known as the Calvary Baptist Church.  Each year since then, on this date, I have taken time to reflect on that day and all that has followed, and generally, I've written something maybe meaningful, maybe...and shared it with all of you.  I really thought that I would let today pass without mention this year, but apparently that will not be the case. If there is any lesson that comes with living a few years, it is this -- that what we think to be constant and solid in our lives almost always proves to be as transitory as the dust…
Read More

With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation…

Gaudate Sunday...today is an  important anniversary for me.  Six years ago this very morning, around 11:10 a.m., I was baptized for a second time in my adult life.  That day in December was, like today, the third Sunday of Advent, also in the Lectionary cycle Year C.  That day in December, I joined the Calvary Baptist Church and embraced a form of Christian and community identity based in the Baptist distinctives,  a group of beliefs about individual and community practice  that is best described by the charter covenant of the Alliance of Baptists.  It has been the lens through which I have understood my life in Christ for almost ten years now,…
Read More

A Nostalgic Kind of Holy Day…

I find myself, each Maundy Thursday, feeling, well -- nostalgic.   Yes,  I am moved deeply by the invitation to walk alongside Jesus through this most difficult and yet most glorious part of his story and our story together.   This day, however, forms an intricate piece of my own story as a person and as a disciple, one of those places where my own story intersects with the story of the Christ in unusual ways. Let's go back to the beginning --  my own beginning, that is.  You see, my parents had a difficult relationship with the idea of church after the death of my brother.  My earliest memories…
Read More

Onward…

Having spent most of my years as a communicator of some kind, words are important to me.  If you combine that life experience with a good ten years spent in a worship community in which the song that lead into prayer during worship went like this, Our thoughts our prayers And we are always praying Our thoughts our prayers Take charge of what you are saying Seek a higher consciousness A state of peacefulness And know that God is always there. And every thought becomes a prayer. and you have, well me -- someone who over and over again examines the use of words that many people assume have a…
Read More

Five years later…

It has been five years.  Five years since I put on that worn out white robe and climbed those creaky, ancient stairs to the baptismal at the Calvary Baptist Church (only pausing long enough along the way to share with the pastor that I was deathly afraid of water).  Five years ago, for the second time in my life, I was baptized.  This time it wasn't a sprinkle of water, it was baptism by full immersion.  And it was well worth facing my desperate fear of water. I am, quite naturally, a person who remembers anniversaries, and so each year on this date I have stopped to consider my baptism.…
Read More

The storm is passing over…

This morning my musical brain is full of the sounds of Charles Tindley's hymn (recast in its popular gospel arrangement), "The Storm is Passing Over" and this is not a random soundtrack for this day.  It is, in fact, a welcome, blessed message from my soul that I have been waiting a long time to hear, a message that as recently as yesterday seemed impossible. You see, yesterday was the one year anniversary of my seizure while travelling in Israel, the first recognizable symptom of the congenital heart valve defect that I had been living with for all these years.  It was the beginning of the long journey through doctors…
Read More

The unasked and unanswered question…why?

I don't know why I was surprised at the ask...I know what time of year it is.  We welcome yet another class of bright disciples of all ages and stripes to the seminary each year at this time, as the summer heat here in Washington tightens its hold on us all in that last gasp of summer's torment I know so well.  I should know just by the weather that it is that time when I am asked to stand and speak to that new class about my philosophy as a writer and as an editor in the Writing Center. Each year, after I have spoken, I am always shocked…
Read More

Holding and being held…with God’s help

Apparently, May is a milestone month for me.   It was in May, too long ago to mention the date, that I was first baptized and confirmed at the Ruskin Heights Presbyterian Church. I was 12 years old. And then, it was in May of 2010, that I was, as the Baptists say, licensed to the Gospel ministry, something more akin to becoming an elder in the Presbyterian Church or a Deacon in other traditions, a type of recognition of ministry without the necessary academic degrees. So you will not be surprised when I say that it was in May 2014, after a decision to pursue a seminary education (a decision…
Read More

Who are you…and why do you do it?

That question...I've written about it before.  And again, before.  And I most assuredly write about it again. Truly, it is a theme through most of what I (well, not just me) do...this idea of our identity, as people of faith, as people who live an incarnated existence, as followers of Jesus.  It is a question to which I do not expect to find an answer that endures for long; the answer has always been, for me, a moving target, often changing slightly with each breath that I take. So, obviously, when I hear the words of John 1:19-28, well, I just cannot help but consider the question again.  Where do…
Read More

Will you hear my confession?

I am not one to write about current events.  I have no pulpit; I am not a public figure.  And so, usually, I consider that what I have to say about the state of the world is, well, for the small circle of those around me, family, friends, acquaintances.    I stand by my belief that we are all -- ALL -- God's children and worthy of the love that is offered us.  And yes, I know that not all are willing or capable of accepting that love and the responsibilities that come with it.  That may be, for me, the ultimate definition of the word evil -- because that…
Read More

I will, with God’s help…

Seven years ago today, I was baptized into the community known as the Calvary Baptist Church.  Each year since then, on this date, I have taken time to reflect on that day and all that has followed, and generally, I've written something maybe meaningful, maybe...and shared it with all of you.  I really thought that I would let today pass without mention this year, but apparently that will not be the case. If there is any lesson that comes with living a few years, it is this -- that what we think to be constant and solid in our lives almost always proves to be as transitory as the dust…
Read More

With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation…

Gaudate Sunday...today is an  important anniversary for me.  Six years ago this very morning, around 11:10 a.m., I was baptized for a second time in my adult life.  That day in December was, like today, the third Sunday of Advent, also in the Lectionary cycle Year C.  That day in December, I joined the Calvary Baptist Church and embraced a form of Christian and community identity based in the Baptist distinctives,  a group of beliefs about individual and community practice  that is best described by the charter covenant of the Alliance of Baptists.  It has been the lens through which I have understood my life in Christ for almost ten years now,…
Read More

A Nostalgic Kind of Holy Day…

I find myself, each Maundy Thursday, feeling, well -- nostalgic.   Yes,  I am moved deeply by the invitation to walk alongside Jesus through this most difficult and yet most glorious part of his story and our story together.   This day, however, forms an intricate piece of my own story as a person and as a disciple, one of those places where my own story intersects with the story of the Christ in unusual ways. Let's go back to the beginning --  my own beginning, that is.  You see, my parents had a difficult relationship with the idea of church after the death of my brother.  My earliest memories…
Read More

Onward…

Having spent most of my years as a communicator of some kind, words are important to me.  If you combine that life experience with a good ten years spent in a worship community in which the song that lead into prayer during worship went like this, Our thoughts our prayers And we are always praying Our thoughts our prayers Take charge of what you are saying Seek a higher consciousness A state of peacefulness And know that God is always there. And every thought becomes a prayer. and you have, well me -- someone who over and over again examines the use of words that many people assume have a…
Read More

Five years later…

It has been five years.  Five years since I put on that worn out white robe and climbed those creaky, ancient stairs to the baptismal at the Calvary Baptist Church (only pausing long enough along the way to share with the pastor that I was deathly afraid of water).  Five years ago, for the second time in my life, I was baptized.  This time it wasn't a sprinkle of water, it was baptism by full immersion.  And it was well worth facing my desperate fear of water. I am, quite naturally, a person who remembers anniversaries, and so each year on this date I have stopped to consider my baptism.…
Read More

The storm is passing over…

This morning my musical brain is full of the sounds of Charles Tindley's hymn (recast in its popular gospel arrangement), "The Storm is Passing Over" and this is not a random soundtrack for this day.  It is, in fact, a welcome, blessed message from my soul that I have been waiting a long time to hear, a message that as recently as yesterday seemed impossible. You see, yesterday was the one year anniversary of my seizure while travelling in Israel, the first recognizable symptom of the congenital heart valve defect that I had been living with for all these years.  It was the beginning of the long journey through doctors…
Read More

The unasked and unanswered question…why?

I don't know why I was surprised at the ask...I know what time of year it is.  We welcome yet another class of bright disciples of all ages and stripes to the seminary each year at this time, as the summer heat here in Washington tightens its hold on us all in that last gasp of summer's torment I know so well.  I should know just by the weather that it is that time when I am asked to stand and speak to that new class about my philosophy as a writer and as an editor in the Writing Center. Each year, after I have spoken, I am always shocked…
Read More

Holding and being held…with God’s help

Apparently, May is a milestone month for me.   It was in May, too long ago to mention the date, that I was first baptized and confirmed at the Ruskin Heights Presbyterian Church. I was 12 years old. And then, it was in May of 2010, that I was, as the Baptists say, licensed to the Gospel ministry, something more akin to becoming an elder in the Presbyterian Church or a Deacon in other traditions, a type of recognition of ministry without the necessary academic degrees. So you will not be surprised when I say that it was in May 2014, after a decision to pursue a seminary education (a decision…
Read More

Who are you…and why do you do it?

That question...I've written about it before.  And again, before.  And I most assuredly write about it again. Truly, it is a theme through most of what I (well, not just me) do...this idea of our identity, as people of faith, as people who live an incarnated existence, as followers of Jesus.  It is a question to which I do not expect to find an answer that endures for long; the answer has always been, for me, a moving target, often changing slightly with each breath that I take. So, obviously, when I hear the words of John 1:19-28, well, I just cannot help but consider the question again.  Where do…
Read More

Will you hear my confession?

I am not one to write about current events.  I have no pulpit; I am not a public figure.  And so, usually, I consider that what I have to say about the state of the world is, well, for the small circle of those around me, family, friends, acquaintances.    I stand by my belief that we are all -- ALL -- God's children and worthy of the love that is offered us.  And yes, I know that not all are willing or capable of accepting that love and the responsibilities that come with it.  That may be, for me, the ultimate definition of the word evil -- because that…
Read More

I will, with God’s help…

Seven years ago today, I was baptized into the community known as the Calvary Baptist Church.  Each year since then, on this date, I have taken time to reflect on that day and all that has followed, and generally, I've written something maybe meaningful, maybe...and shared it with all of you.  I really thought that I would let today pass without mention this year, but apparently that will not be the case. If there is any lesson that comes with living a few years, it is this -- that what we think to be constant and solid in our lives almost always proves to be as transitory as the dust…
Read More

With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation…

Gaudate Sunday...today is an  important anniversary for me.  Six years ago this very morning, around 11:10 a.m., I was baptized for a second time in my adult life.  That day in December was, like today, the third Sunday of Advent, also in the Lectionary cycle Year C.  That day in December, I joined the Calvary Baptist Church and embraced a form of Christian and community identity based in the Baptist distinctives,  a group of beliefs about individual and community practice  that is best described by the charter covenant of the Alliance of Baptists.  It has been the lens through which I have understood my life in Christ for almost ten years now,…
Read More

A Nostalgic Kind of Holy Day…

I find myself, each Maundy Thursday, feeling, well -- nostalgic.   Yes,  I am moved deeply by the invitation to walk alongside Jesus through this most difficult and yet most glorious part of his story and our story together.   This day, however, forms an intricate piece of my own story as a person and as a disciple, one of those places where my own story intersects with the story of the Christ in unusual ways. Let's go back to the beginning --  my own beginning, that is.  You see, my parents had a difficult relationship with the idea of church after the death of my brother.  My earliest memories…
Read More

Onward…

Having spent most of my years as a communicator of some kind, words are important to me.  If you combine that life experience with a good ten years spent in a worship community in which the song that lead into prayer during worship went like this, Our thoughts our prayers And we are always praying Our thoughts our prayers Take charge of what you are saying Seek a higher consciousness A state of peacefulness And know that God is always there. And every thought becomes a prayer. and you have, well me -- someone who over and over again examines the use of words that many people assume have a…
Read More

Five years later…

It has been five years.  Five years since I put on that worn out white robe and climbed those creaky, ancient stairs to the baptismal at the Calvary Baptist Church (only pausing long enough along the way to share with the pastor that I was deathly afraid of water).  Five years ago, for the second time in my life, I was baptized.  This time it wasn't a sprinkle of water, it was baptism by full immersion.  And it was well worth facing my desperate fear of water. I am, quite naturally, a person who remembers anniversaries, and so each year on this date I have stopped to consider my baptism.…
Read More

The storm is passing over…

This morning my musical brain is full of the sounds of Charles Tindley's hymn (recast in its popular gospel arrangement), "The Storm is Passing Over" and this is not a random soundtrack for this day.  It is, in fact, a welcome, blessed message from my soul that I have been waiting a long time to hear, a message that as recently as yesterday seemed impossible. You see, yesterday was the one year anniversary of my seizure while travelling in Israel, the first recognizable symptom of the congenital heart valve defect that I had been living with for all these years.  It was the beginning of the long journey through doctors…
Read More

The unasked and unanswered question…why?

I don't know why I was surprised at the ask...I know what time of year it is.  We welcome yet another class of bright disciples of all ages and stripes to the seminary each year at this time, as the summer heat here in Washington tightens its hold on us all in that last gasp of summer's torment I know so well.  I should know just by the weather that it is that time when I am asked to stand and speak to that new class about my philosophy as a writer and as an editor in the Writing Center. Each year, after I have spoken, I am always shocked…
Read More

Holding and being held…with God’s help

Apparently, May is a milestone month for me.   It was in May, too long ago to mention the date, that I was first baptized and confirmed at the Ruskin Heights Presbyterian Church. I was 12 years old. And then, it was in May of 2010, that I was, as the Baptists say, licensed to the Gospel ministry, something more akin to becoming an elder in the Presbyterian Church or a Deacon in other traditions, a type of recognition of ministry without the necessary academic degrees. So you will not be surprised when I say that it was in May 2014, after a decision to pursue a seminary education (a decision…
Read More

Who are you…and why do you do it?

That question...I've written about it before.  And again, before.  And I most assuredly write about it again. Truly, it is a theme through most of what I (well, not just me) do...this idea of our identity, as people of faith, as people who live an incarnated existence, as followers of Jesus.  It is a question to which I do not expect to find an answer that endures for long; the answer has always been, for me, a moving target, often changing slightly with each breath that I take. So, obviously, when I hear the words of John 1:19-28, well, I just cannot help but consider the question again.  Where do…
Read More

Will you hear my confession?

I am not one to write about current events.  I have no pulpit; I am not a public figure.  And so, usually, I consider that what I have to say about the state of the world is, well, for the small circle of those around me, family, friends, acquaintances.    I stand by my belief that we are all -- ALL -- God's children and worthy of the love that is offered us.  And yes, I know that not all are willing or capable of accepting that love and the responsibilities that come with it.  That may be, for me, the ultimate definition of the word evil -- because that…
Read More

I will, with God’s help…

Seven years ago today, I was baptized into the community known as the Calvary Baptist Church.  Each year since then, on this date, I have taken time to reflect on that day and all that has followed, and generally, I've written something maybe meaningful, maybe...and shared it with all of you.  I really thought that I would let today pass without mention this year, but apparently that will not be the case. If there is any lesson that comes with living a few years, it is this -- that what we think to be constant and solid in our lives almost always proves to be as transitory as the dust…
Read More

With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation…

Gaudate Sunday...today is an  important anniversary for me.  Six years ago this very morning, around 11:10 a.m., I was baptized for a second time in my adult life.  That day in December was, like today, the third Sunday of Advent, also in the Lectionary cycle Year C.  That day in December, I joined the Calvary Baptist Church and embraced a form of Christian and community identity based in the Baptist distinctives,  a group of beliefs about individual and community practice  that is best described by the charter covenant of the Alliance of Baptists.  It has been the lens through which I have understood my life in Christ for almost ten years now,…
Read More

A Nostalgic Kind of Holy Day…

I find myself, each Maundy Thursday, feeling, well -- nostalgic.   Yes,  I am moved deeply by the invitation to walk alongside Jesus through this most difficult and yet most glorious part of his story and our story together.   This day, however, forms an intricate piece of my own story as a person and as a disciple, one of those places where my own story intersects with the story of the Christ in unusual ways. Let's go back to the beginning --  my own beginning, that is.  You see, my parents had a difficult relationship with the idea of church after the death of my brother.  My earliest memories…
Read More

Onward…

Having spent most of my years as a communicator of some kind, words are important to me.  If you combine that life experience with a good ten years spent in a worship community in which the song that lead into prayer during worship went like this, Our thoughts our prayers And we are always praying Our thoughts our prayers Take charge of what you are saying Seek a higher consciousness A state of peacefulness And know that God is always there. And every thought becomes a prayer. and you have, well me -- someone who over and over again examines the use of words that many people assume have a…
Read More

Five years later…

It has been five years.  Five years since I put on that worn out white robe and climbed those creaky, ancient stairs to the baptismal at the Calvary Baptist Church (only pausing long enough along the way to share with the pastor that I was deathly afraid of water).  Five years ago, for the second time in my life, I was baptized.  This time it wasn't a sprinkle of water, it was baptism by full immersion.  And it was well worth facing my desperate fear of water. I am, quite naturally, a person who remembers anniversaries, and so each year on this date I have stopped to consider my baptism.…
Read More

The storm is passing over…

This morning my musical brain is full of the sounds of Charles Tindley's hymn (recast in its popular gospel arrangement), "The Storm is Passing Over" and this is not a random soundtrack for this day.  It is, in fact, a welcome, blessed message from my soul that I have been waiting a long time to hear, a message that as recently as yesterday seemed impossible. You see, yesterday was the one year anniversary of my seizure while travelling in Israel, the first recognizable symptom of the congenital heart valve defect that I had been living with for all these years.  It was the beginning of the long journey through doctors…
Read More

The unasked and unanswered question…why?

I don't know why I was surprised at the ask...I know what time of year it is.  We welcome yet another class of bright disciples of all ages and stripes to the seminary each year at this time, as the summer heat here in Washington tightens its hold on us all in that last gasp of summer's torment I know so well.  I should know just by the weather that it is that time when I am asked to stand and speak to that new class about my philosophy as a writer and as an editor in the Writing Center. Each year, after I have spoken, I am always shocked…
Read More

Holding and being held…with God’s help

Apparently, May is a milestone month for me.   It was in May, too long ago to mention the date, that I was first baptized and confirmed at the Ruskin Heights Presbyterian Church. I was 12 years old. And then, it was in May of 2010, that I was, as the Baptists say, licensed to the Gospel ministry, something more akin to becoming an elder in the Presbyterian Church or a Deacon in other traditions, a type of recognition of ministry without the necessary academic degrees. So you will not be surprised when I say that it was in May 2014, after a decision to pursue a seminary education (a decision…
Read More

Who are you…and why do you do it?

That question...I've written about it before.  And again, before.  And I most assuredly write about it again. Truly, it is a theme through most of what I (well, not just me) do...this idea of our identity, as people of faith, as people who live an incarnated existence, as followers of Jesus.  It is a question to which I do not expect to find an answer that endures for long; the answer has always been, for me, a moving target, often changing slightly with each breath that I take. So, obviously, when I hear the words of John 1:19-28, well, I just cannot help but consider the question again.  Where do…
Read More

Will you hear my confession?

I am not one to write about current events.  I have no pulpit; I am not a public figure.  And so, usually, I consider that what I have to say about the state of the world is, well, for the small circle of those around me, family, friends, acquaintances.    I stand by my belief that we are all -- ALL -- God's children and worthy of the love that is offered us.  And yes, I know that not all are willing or capable of accepting that love and the responsibilities that come with it.  That may be, for me, the ultimate definition of the word evil -- because that…
Read More

I will, with God’s help…

Seven years ago today, I was baptized into the community known as the Calvary Baptist Church.  Each year since then, on this date, I have taken time to reflect on that day and all that has followed, and generally, I've written something maybe meaningful, maybe...and shared it with all of you.  I really thought that I would let today pass without mention this year, but apparently that will not be the case. If there is any lesson that comes with living a few years, it is this -- that what we think to be constant and solid in our lives almost always proves to be as transitory as the dust…
Read More

With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation…

Gaudate Sunday...today is an  important anniversary for me.  Six years ago this very morning, around 11:10 a.m., I was baptized for a second time in my adult life.  That day in December was, like today, the third Sunday of Advent, also in the Lectionary cycle Year C.  That day in December, I joined the Calvary Baptist Church and embraced a form of Christian and community identity based in the Baptist distinctives,  a group of beliefs about individual and community practice  that is best described by the charter covenant of the Alliance of Baptists.  It has been the lens through which I have understood my life in Christ for almost ten years now,…
Read More

A Nostalgic Kind of Holy Day…

I find myself, each Maundy Thursday, feeling, well -- nostalgic.   Yes,  I am moved deeply by the invitation to walk alongside Jesus through this most difficult and yet most glorious part of his story and our story together.   This day, however, forms an intricate piece of my own story as a person and as a disciple, one of those places where my own story intersects with the story of the Christ in unusual ways. Let's go back to the beginning --  my own beginning, that is.  You see, my parents had a difficult relationship with the idea of church after the death of my brother.  My earliest memories…
Read More

Onward…

Having spent most of my years as a communicator of some kind, words are important to me.  If you combine that life experience with a good ten years spent in a worship community in which the song that lead into prayer during worship went like this, Our thoughts our prayers And we are always praying Our thoughts our prayers Take charge of what you are saying Seek a higher consciousness A state of peacefulness And know that God is always there. And every thought becomes a prayer. and you have, well me -- someone who over and over again examines the use of words that many people assume have a…
Read More

Five years later…

It has been five years.  Five years since I put on that worn out white robe and climbed those creaky, ancient stairs to the baptismal at the Calvary Baptist Church (only pausing long enough along the way to share with the pastor that I was deathly afraid of water).  Five years ago, for the second time in my life, I was baptized.  This time it wasn't a sprinkle of water, it was baptism by full immersion.  And it was well worth facing my desperate fear of water. I am, quite naturally, a person who remembers anniversaries, and so each year on this date I have stopped to consider my baptism.…
Read More

The storm is passing over…

This morning my musical brain is full of the sounds of Charles Tindley's hymn (recast in its popular gospel arrangement), "The Storm is Passing Over" and this is not a random soundtrack for this day.  It is, in fact, a welcome, blessed message from my soul that I have been waiting a long time to hear, a message that as recently as yesterday seemed impossible. You see, yesterday was the one year anniversary of my seizure while travelling in Israel, the first recognizable symptom of the congenital heart valve defect that I had been living with for all these years.  It was the beginning of the long journey through doctors…
Read More

The unasked and unanswered question…why?

I don't know why I was surprised at the ask...I know what time of year it is.  We welcome yet another class of bright disciples of all ages and stripes to the seminary each year at this time, as the summer heat here in Washington tightens its hold on us all in that last gasp of summer's torment I know so well.  I should know just by the weather that it is that time when I am asked to stand and speak to that new class about my philosophy as a writer and as an editor in the Writing Center. Each year, after I have spoken, I am always shocked…
Read More

Holding and being held…with God’s help

Apparently, May is a milestone month for me.   It was in May, too long ago to mention the date, that I was first baptized and confirmed at the Ruskin Heights Presbyterian Church. I was 12 years old. And then, it was in May of 2010, that I was, as the Baptists say, licensed to the Gospel ministry, something more akin to becoming an elder in the Presbyterian Church or a Deacon in other traditions, a type of recognition of ministry without the necessary academic degrees. So you will not be surprised when I say that it was in May 2014, after a decision to pursue a seminary education (a decision…
Read More

Who are you…and why do you do it?

That question...I've written about it before.  And again, before.  And I most assuredly write about it again. Truly, it is a theme through most of what I (well, not just me) do...this idea of our identity, as people of faith, as people who live an incarnated existence, as followers of Jesus.  It is a question to which I do not expect to find an answer that endures for long; the answer has always been, for me, a moving target, often changing slightly with each breath that I take. So, obviously, when I hear the words of John 1:19-28, well, I just cannot help but consider the question again.  Where do…
Read More

Will you hear my confession?

I am not one to write about current events.  I have no pulpit; I am not a public figure.  And so, usually, I consider that what I have to say about the state of the world is, well, for the small circle of those around me, family, friends, acquaintances.    I stand by my belief that we are all -- ALL -- God's children and worthy of the love that is offered us.  And yes, I know that not all are willing or capable of accepting that love and the responsibilities that come with it.  That may be, for me, the ultimate definition of the word evil -- because that…
Read More

I will, with God’s help…

Seven years ago today, I was baptized into the community known as the Calvary Baptist Church.  Each year since then, on this date, I have taken time to reflect on that day and all that has followed, and generally, I've written something maybe meaningful, maybe...and shared it with all of you.  I really thought that I would let today pass without mention this year, but apparently that will not be the case. If there is any lesson that comes with living a few years, it is this -- that what we think to be constant and solid in our lives almost always proves to be as transitory as the dust…
Read More

With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation…

Gaudate Sunday...today is an  important anniversary for me.  Six years ago this very morning, around 11:10 a.m., I was baptized for a second time in my adult life.  That day in December was, like today, the third Sunday of Advent, also in the Lectionary cycle Year C.  That day in December, I joined the Calvary Baptist Church and embraced a form of Christian and community identity based in the Baptist distinctives,  a group of beliefs about individual and community practice  that is best described by the charter covenant of the Alliance of Baptists.  It has been the lens through which I have understood my life in Christ for almost ten years now,…
Read More

A Nostalgic Kind of Holy Day…

I find myself, each Maundy Thursday, feeling, well -- nostalgic.   Yes,  I am moved deeply by the invitation to walk alongside Jesus through this most difficult and yet most glorious part of his story and our story together.   This day, however, forms an intricate piece of my own story as a person and as a disciple, one of those places where my own story intersects with the story of the Christ in unusual ways. Let's go back to the beginning --  my own beginning, that is.  You see, my parents had a difficult relationship with the idea of church after the death of my brother.  My earliest memories…
Read More

Onward…

Having spent most of my years as a communicator of some kind, words are important to me.  If you combine that life experience with a good ten years spent in a worship community in which the song that lead into prayer during worship went like this, Our thoughts our prayers And we are always praying Our thoughts our prayers Take charge of what you are saying Seek a higher consciousness A state of peacefulness And know that God is always there. And every thought becomes a prayer. and you have, well me -- someone who over and over again examines the use of words that many people assume have a…
Read More

Five years later…

It has been five years.  Five years since I put on that worn out white robe and climbed those creaky, ancient stairs to the baptismal at the Calvary Baptist Church (only pausing long enough along the way to share with the pastor that I was deathly afraid of water).  Five years ago, for the second time in my life, I was baptized.  This time it wasn't a sprinkle of water, it was baptism by full immersion.  And it was well worth facing my desperate fear of water. I am, quite naturally, a person who remembers anniversaries, and so each year on this date I have stopped to consider my baptism.…
Read More

The storm is passing over…

This morning my musical brain is full of the sounds of Charles Tindley's hymn (recast in its popular gospel arrangement), "The Storm is Passing Over" and this is not a random soundtrack for this day.  It is, in fact, a welcome, blessed message from my soul that I have been waiting a long time to hear, a message that as recently as yesterday seemed impossible. You see, yesterday was the one year anniversary of my seizure while travelling in Israel, the first recognizable symptom of the congenital heart valve defect that I had been living with for all these years.  It was the beginning of the long journey through doctors…
Read More