A Pet Blessing is a great way for a church to meet its neighborhood. Today, St. Benedict hosted its annual Pet Blessing. Two of my wonderful leaders set up plates of dog and people cookies, a water bowl, lemonade and coffee. I put on a stole and we gathered under our driveway portico to welcome […]
Atchison Blue 
September 28, 2013 by
I reviewed this new book for The Engelwood Review of Books online edition. Judy Valente is a TV producer and poet whose life is changed when she begins visiting a Benedictine women’s monastery in Atchison, Kansas. I’ve found a lot of nurture with Benedictines myself, and it was fun to read and review this book. […]
How I May Not Be the Vicar of Bolingbrook
September 12, 2013 by
I don’t post many of my sermons here. They’re better live. And who wants to read sermons? But I’m going to break my rule because I got a lot of comments on this one and it connects to the theme of this blog – spiritual geography and being the Vicar or Priest or Church to […]
Funerals at Home
August 18, 2013 by
Episcopal Cafe’ ran this piece I wrote as “The Daily Episcopalian” last Friday. Funerals at Home Recently, I presided at a tiny home funeral. Twenty people gathered in the living room of a mother and son, approximately aged 90 and 60, who had died on the same day. I’ll call them Leona and Joe. They had […]
Cross Stitch Samplers 
August 9, 2013 by
Some mottoes the Vicar is considering immortalizing in needlepoint for her study wall… Stop trying to fix everything. You’re not as important as you worry you are. It’s about you, but it’s not about you. – Marie Fortune God, please help me not to be such an ass. – Anne Lamott There […]
Blood on the Lawn 
July 30, 2013 by
We were walking along Parkside, Odo the Beagle and me, when all of a sudden he dove into a front lawn and baby bunnies went running everywhere. Except for the one in his month. It made a terrible tiny squeak. Meanwhile, I was still trying to figure out what was happening. Were these tiny things mice? […]
Solitude and Crowds in Orlando
July 16, 2013 by
We came to Florida on a two-day road trip last week with some dear friends for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) General Assembly, a biannual meeting of my husband’s entire denomination. Denominational assemblies are giant conventions. Instead of business people, dentists, or people in Star Wars costumes, you have a motley crew of church […]
Laryngitis as a Spiritual Discipline
July 2, 2013 by
I’ve barely spoken for the past four days. Who knew laryngitis could last this long? (It’s getting better, so no one should worry.) It’s also been a really fascinating experience. Ten days ago, I got a bad cold and was in bed for 3 days. I was well enough to preach and preside on Sunday, […]
Why I Can’t Bring Myself to Wear My Collar Into Target
June 12, 2013 by
This morning, I wrinkled my brow in the driver’s seat of my car, considered my options, and took off my clergy collar before walking into Target. I don’t wear a collar every day, but when I do, this is often a choice I have to make. Pumping gas, going into restaurants and stores, walking across […]
Two Blocks on the West Side
May 12, 2013 by
Last week, I went to a chaplain graduation with one of my parishioners (congrats, Cindy!). The program was at Bishop Anderson House, in the Illinois Medical District, so the ceremony was nearby at one of our West Side Episcopal churches, St. Andrew’s, a historically Black church. For some, it’s downtown Chicago that fills them with pride and love […]
