I don’t know about you, but winter is a season when my energy is low and while lying dormant may be what I need to do, my frontal lobe just wants to keep clicking over: producing, checking things off the list, producing, scheduling tasks, producing, creating, producing. My body and spirit know they need renewal; …
Welcome to Samhain. In case you missed it, last Wednesday’s Reflection (29 October 2015) invites you to reflect on the past season – and the past year – and contains a ritual farewell to Lughnasadh and a ritual welcome to Samhain. The winter quarter has just begun in the ancient Irish calendar of the northern …
Just over a month ago, I turned to my husband and said, “I can’t imagine being part of a religious tradition where thousands of people die on pilgrimage.” The reports from Mecca every year touch a primal fear in me. I hate crowds. Even in high school and college I wouldn’t go to concerts because …
Backstory: Last night I was at a meeting about the design of a worship space. I was wearing my theological hat (or biretta, miter, skullcap, veil, ring of roses) because it is very hard for me to take that particular item off, even with the best intentions in the world. Anyhow, during the meeting I …
NOTE: If you missed the ritual for the end of Lughnasadh and beginning of Samhain, you can find it in last Wednesday’s reflection. This link will take you there. The feast that begins Samhain (pronounced SOW-en) is All Hallows Eve (or Halloween) on the night before All Saints Day. It is one of the four …
I finally had an entry in the Lughnasadh Give-Away! Maybe it is appropriate that my daughter won since her second anniversary is tomorrow. I will be doing another give-away mid-Samhain for a chance to win six Solstice or Christmas cards. Here in Colorado most of the deciduous trees have shed their color as the predominant …
…but fulfilled life is more than standing on holy ground. It is more than recognizing we are standing on holy ground. It is more than knowing that all ground is holy. At some point it is essential that we realize we are holy ground. We are holy ground. You and I, your neighbor, your partner, …
The feast that begins Lughnasadh (pronounced loo-NA-sah) is Lammas – the word is an elision of Loaf-Mass – when the first loaves of bread from the first harvest of the new grain are baked, blessed and eaten. Lammas is one of the four fire festivals of the ancient Irish year. It honors the self-sacrifice …
Henri Nouwen (the wonderful priest, author, and theologian, who died unexpectedly in 1996), lived the last part of his life in the L’Arche communities in companionship with those who have developmental disabilities. In a lecture given at the Scarritt-Bennett Center, reflecting on the experience of living with those the world considers “broken,” he said, “The …
Every once in awhile, I find it fruitful to stop and consider all the clutter in my life. Not just the physical clutter, but the emotional clutter, the psychological clutter, even the spiritual clutter. The beginning of Lent is not a bad time to pick for this activity and tomorrow is Ash Wednesday. So here …