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
Continue reading →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
Continue reading →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
Continue reading →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
Continue reading →I love traveling, I always have. One thing I have learned is that the type of journey and its destination determine what youll pack in your bags. If I am going on a backpacking trip in the Alleghenies (PA) and Ill be out for 10 days, I will
Continue reading →This is the message I gave a few weeks back at George Fox Chapel. I’ve been meaning to post the manuscript but haven’t had a chance. _Tradition is Dead, Tradition is Alive I think I am an unlikely candidate for Quaker week. I am like the majority of
Continue reading →This is a video I did awhile back at the request of my yearly meeting (NWYM). In it I tell a little of my own story and why I am a Quaker today. I would love it if we could get our Quaker communities doing something like this and posting
Continue reading →At Camas Friends Church, we’re reading through the journal of John Woolman, a Quaker minister and abolitionist from the 18th century. Lately, I’ve been thinking about the values we often unknowingly impress upon our children. Many of the activities we engage our children in have some kind of
Continue reading →This is the message I shared with Camas Friends on October 23, 2011 Introduction Finish this statement: Intercession is… Growing up in the church I was most used to hearing about intercession in the form of prayer, intercessory prayer was kind of like an intervention for a family member but
Continue reading →You can drive around most neighborhoods here in the suburbs and find at least some vacant buildings. Some of them are small, and if not historic, they at least have a history. While others are just enormous squares, nondescript, no personality or history at all. “throwaway” buildings might be a
Continue reading →This is the message I gave at Camas Friends Church this past Sunday. Weve been doing a series on the book of exodus with an eye, or an ear, or both, to Gods concern about liberation and concern for the poor. A couple of weeks back I shared
Continue reading →Yesterday, I had the pleasure of speaking at George Fox’s Chapel on my talk which was titled Tradition, Quakers and the Resurrection Community. I’ll post it here within the next day or so. In the talk I tell a little of my own story, discuss the idea of
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