Month: November 2011

  • Nouwen and The Discipline of Gratitude

    I really like what Henry Nouwen writes about the discipline of gratitude: Gratitude … goes beyond the “mine” and “thine” and claims the truth that all of life is a pure gift. In the past I always thought of gratitude as a spontaneous response to the awareness of gifts received, but now I realize that…

  • Prayer for Occupy

    Here are two images that have gone ‘viral’ from the US Occupy protests that have made their rounds since Tuesday: Probably like many folks, these images have been sitting heavy with me. The images are just the capstone of a long couple of weeks of interactions and conversations concerning occupy and a number of things…

  • Fox On Black Friday

    I came across this in my reading the other day and it made me think of some of the stuff I’ve seen from Rev. Billy Talen, especially in the documentary on Christmas, and then I wondered what Fox would be doing on Black Friday: I was moved to open my mouth and lift up my…

  • No Shrine Required: The Denial of Death and the Legacy of Moses (Deut 34)

    This is the message I gave during meeting for worship at Camas Friends Church Sunday 11.6.2011. Terrified by death_ In his book “the denial of death” Earnest Becker opens with this line, “The prospect of death wonderfully concentrates the mind.” And that “The idea of death, the fear of it, haunts the human animal like…

  • Which Direction Are We Headed?

     I love traveling, I always have. One thing I have learned is that the type of journey and its destination determine what you’ll pack in your bags. If I am going on a backpacking trip in the Alleghenies (PA) and I’ll be out for 10 days, I will have to pack much differently than I…