Thank you, to all of you who have taken a moment to pause and ponder with me this past year. It has been quite some year, most of it spent trying to evade the Covid-19 virus as best we could. The task continues! To usher in 2022 I have chosen a short poem by WarrenContinue reading ““the world gets ready””
Monthly Archives: December 2021
Nativity
Bethlehem, sitting on the West Bank, remains a difficult place to get to. The photo above shows not a manger but a chaotic presence of a border wall which surrounds the city making it difficult and dangerous to travel to, as one has to pass through Israeli border checks! This photograph does not grace ourContinue reading “Nativity”
“..tissued fripperies”
The English poet John Betjeman’s poem “Christmas” has been, along with Eliot’s Journey of the Magi, part of my Christmas celebration each and every year. I often used his poem in worship on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. A few years ago while visiting Cornwall I made it a part of my “pilgrimage” to searchContinue reading ““..tissued fripperies””
Journey of the Magi
Since 1982 I have read T.S. Eliot’s poem Journey of the Magi in Christmas worship every year. I could not imagine an Advent season without Eliot’s words and questions. Early on in my many years of serving a most caring congregation in Kansas City I mentioned my love of this poem and from that momentContinue reading “Journey of the Magi”
Miracles occur!
‘Tis the season of miracles, at least that is what the gospels tell us. As Advent moves on, picking up speed as Christmas fast approaches, we begin to say to ourselves “I will never be ready” Seriously, how can anyone ever be ready for God’s inbreaking presence. Let us not fool ourselves, let us receiveContinue reading “Miracles occur!”
La Corona: Annunciation
The photograph above is from The Cathedral of The Immaculate Conception, Wichita, Kansas. Choosing an image, of the story of the angel Gabriel announcing to Mary that she would give birth to God’s son, is quite a challenge (Luke 1:26-38). Some of the greatest artists over many centuries depict this moment only through “western eyes.”Continue reading “La Corona: Annunciation”
Hill Christmas
The weather here in St. louis MO. doesn’t feel like Christmas. A few days ago we had 70 degrees in the early afternoon! Climate change for sure! Yet in the coming days Christmas cards will arrive with plenty of snow on the front covers! This morning, I pulled from my bookshelf a few of R.S.Continue reading “Hill Christmas”
Some days a prayer utters itself
I have a childhood memory of the BBC radio news playing from the kitchen in the morning while I was getting ready for school. As in the evening, so in the morning, the radio news concluded with the weather forecast which was then followed by the “shipping forecast” and the naming of the “fishing” groundsContinue reading “Some days a prayer utters itself”
Prayers, Poems, and Christian Ponderings 