Advent Reflections
AdventWord 2019: 22. Restore
When I think about the importance of manual labor, I think of my brother. The winter he turned twenty, Joshua was living in my grandparents’ basement while he flailed around trying to find himself, attending community college and partying entirely too much, feeling all the things. I have read that most addicts find their bad […]
AdventWord 2019: 21. Rest
“Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee.” From the Confessions of St. Augustine The last year has been an exciting one when it comes to the Way of Love and our Office of Communication. The popularity of the seven practices for Jesus-centered life – turn, learn, pray, worship, bless, go, and […]
AdventWord 2019: 20. Go
“When the path is long, Christ wanders with you. When the path is difficult, God’s spirit carries you. When the path is dangerous, God’s hands embrace you. Go in peace as God’s beloved child.” The words above are from the dismissal at a service that I accidentally wandered into at Oslo Cathedral a few years […]
AdventWord 2019: 19. Bless
“My life has been filled with multiple blessings, too many to count. Among the greatest of these blessings are the many different people with whom I have been privileged to share my path – people who have inspired me and guided me through the seasons of my life. “The Episcopal Church was part of a […]
AdventWord 2019: 18. Worship
Worship is an integral part in the life and mission of the church. We are an “ecclesia” because we gather to worship. I consider worship as a high priority and I encourage my diverse ethnic constituencies: Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino, South Asian, Southeast Asian and Pacific Islander communities to do the same. What is the […]
AdventWord 2019: 17. Pray
“Lord, teach us to pray…” Luke 11:1 I was at a conference recently in Brazil and soon after arriving, Luz Maria, a friend from Colombia, approached me with a request for prayer for her presentation at this conference as she was anxious about it. A mutual friend, Ema Rosero-Nordalm from Boston, had suggested that she […]
AdventWord 2019: 16. Learn
We learn through information and through experience. The work of the General Convention Office involves creating information and resources for the Church as well as planning and staffing experiences for the whole Church. The GCO is responsible for or has oversight of much of the information – Constitution and Canons, historical records (e.g. Journal of […]
AdventWord 2019: 15. Turn
Our faith encourages us to turn toward one another and toward God. Under Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, The Episcopal Church is called to engage Becoming Beloved Community, a set of interrelated commitments around which Episcopalians may organize our many efforts to respond to racial injustice and grow a community of reconcilers, justice-makers, and healers. Across the Church, Episcopalians […]
AdventWord 2019: 14. Gather
When I first moved to Liverpool, I had met only one person, through Skype, who picked me up at the airport. I was nervous; I had never lived so far away from my family before, moved to a place I had never been before, to meet and work and worship with people I had never […]
AdventWord 2019: 13. Water
It is easy to overlook the powerful nature of water. Many of us engage with water when it is controlled – pouring out of taps in our houses or running from a pump in a well. But water is a powerful force. Water can turn a piece of broken glass into a soft rock, carve […]