Dogs are spiritual beings. Their free-spirited energy is pure and divine. They love and accept us unconditionally. Because of this, they have a direct connection to the spirit. If we let them, they can be our spiritual teachers and healers. Our life’s path and purpose can and often becomes...
Dear Lord, we're still hoping that we'll wake up. We're still hoping we'll peek from under the covers and think, thank God it was just a dream. Just yesterday moms were packing school lunches, children were going off to school, restaurants were open, sports arenas were busy, brides were walking...
Well, Advent is here once again. It’s that time of year when COSTCO has been stocking Christmas trees since late September, when Christmas carols play 24-7 on certain radio stations, and when shopping ramps up to a frenetic pace. And people in church clamor for Christmas carols during...
As many of you know I have walked through many of the cathedrals in Europe, both on pilgrimages with other St. Bartians and on my own personal travel with Nina and other friends. One of the things you notice as you walk through the various cathedrals and abbeys is that there are a lot of people...
Recently I was having a conversation with a friend about our changing world. Yes, times are changing. Remember the Bob Dylan anti-establishment Song from the 60’s - The Times They are a Changing. The sixties, after all, was a decade when we first heard the expression, “Never trust...
Every fall we gather as a community in small groups to share a meal, get to know one another and share what St. Bart's means to us. Be sure to participate in one of these Agape meals. RSVP today! Wouldn’t Agape be a wonderful name for a church? In using it, we would be using a word which...
I am often amazed when I hear that the Church, including the Episcopal Church, is in decline. Amazed, because here at St. Bart's we are growing. So, what is it that we are doing right and, well, others not so right. One of the greatest challenges the Church faces today is ministering in a...
Most parents teach their children to watch out for strangers. That's a legitimate concern, given that the world seems to be a more dangerous place than it used to be. But is that true? The world has always been a dangerous place. We just know more about that danger more quickly because of the...
Being a transplanted New Yorker, I recall that the great Yogi Berra once remarked, “If you come to a fork in the road that leads to winning take it.” Would you agree with me that if you came to a fork in the road, and one direction led to saving your life and the other to losing it...
Last month, I was invited to preach in the rector’s pulpit. I mentioned the comment Justice Clarence Thomas made in a recent interview, “there is nothing to bind us together as a nation anymore.” This month I would like to expand on that thought. David Brooks is an American...