How to read my posts this fall…

Dear Readers: I’m leaving on sabbatical this Sunday afternoon! If you want to come along for my adventures via  “Stranger, Guest, Pilgrim,” my sabbatical blog (I plan to post every Sunday) you can get updates if you: 1. keep following me on Facebook (you can follow me even without being “Friends”) 2. use the brown button on the left column […]

The Sabbatical

In mid-August, I’m going on sabbatical. St. Benedict, Adam, and I have been preparing for almost two years for this time. A team of lay leaders and I wrote and won a grant from the wonderful Lilly Foundation to pay for some exciting opportunities for me, Adam, and the congregation, including a priest who will lead worship […]

Living By The Word (article link)

Friends – I just realized that most of you won’t be able to read these, since they’re behind a paywall – my apologies!  I published two lectionary reflections in The Christian Century‘s last issue (June 25, 2014) for their series “Living By the Word.” Below you’ll find a few opening sentence/s and links! Sunday, July 6, 2014,  Romans […]

Becoming an Oblate

I’ve spent the last year in formation to become a Benedictine oblate, at Holy Wisdom Monastery in Middleton, Wisconsin. An oblate is someone who promises to follow a monastic rule in their life in the world, while staying in relationship with a particular monastery. Oblates don’t follow a rule – in this case the Rule […]

Vigils, or Lying Awake in The Middle of The Night

Dedicated to all the adults I know who, especially as they grow older, struggle to sleep through the night, including myself. Vigils, from the Latin vigilia, “wakefulness”: a period of purposeful sleeplessness, an occasion for devotional watching, the monastic night office.   Part of adulthood, it seems is waking up at 2 a.m. or 3 a.m. and […]

Mentors: The Christian Century

The Christian Century accepted a piece I wrote about “Mentors” and it was published in the January 22 issue. I wrote about my time as a pastor in rural western Massachusetts. The other pieces are interesting, too – my favorite is the one about the unwelcome pastor in South Africa. My piece is about halfway […]

How I Learned About Nelson Mandela

In first through eighth grade, I attended an almost entirely Black school – St. Thomas the Apostle in Hyde Park. Hyde Park is an integrated Chicago neighborhood; but then again, it’s not. I grew up in our racialized American culture, which – even at St. Thomas – taught me that White was smarter, better behaved, […]

Gratitude and A Recipe

I grew up with my grandmother’s Cranberry Jello Salad, which every year my brother and I would leave untouched on our salad plates. Then, the first time I went to Thanksgiving with my husband’s family, I was given a job. This job was to make Strawberry Pretzel Jello Salad. This threw me for a loop. Thanksgiving […]

Other People’s Homes in Mexico

In October, Adam and I spent a week in Cancun with his mom and brother, Luke. We stayed in a resort and had a lot of fun. One of the interesting things about visiting other places, at least for people who geek out about domestic and civic landscapes like me, is seeing where and how […]

Paper Cutter Love

Adam: (my husband, looking around the church office) Hey, where’s the paper cutter? Did someone get rid of it? I can’t find it anywhere. Heidi: They better not have. That paper cutter is part of my soul! Maybe I was exaggerating a little. But not really. I’ve written posts about manhole covers and our local […]