A sampler of the kinds of things I talk about with folks. These conversations varied from 5 minutes to 2 hours, and took place last week. Some were formally scheduled meetings, some casual conversation, some one-on-one in a coffee shop, some over email or text. Anything pastorally sensitive I’ve made as vague as possible. Monday: […]
Who forgot to turn their phone off? 
May 21, 2012 by
Yesterday, during worship (during my sermon, actually), a cell phone went off. Since I was preaching at the time, I could see the whole congregation and I noticed who reached in their jacket to turn off the phone. Adam asked me, later that day, “Whose cell phone went off in church this morning?” (Because this […]
Behold, I stand at the door and knock
April 6, 2012 by
If you ever wanted a chance to meditate or pray in a church at two in the morning, try Maundy Thursday sometime. Jesus’ disciples fell asleep on him, the night he was waiting to be arrested. So, every Holy Week at St. Benedict, like many churches do, we have a vigil or watch where folks […]
Monastic adventures
April 4, 2012 by
I love monasteries. I’ve been visiting them since my college days. I spent a half day at St. Procopius in Lisle today, with three dear friends. The building is all smooth lines – brick, glass, and concrete. I love modern architecture in a monastery: feels like there’s less of the past, dragging the community backward. Spiritually, […]
Day off…? Follow up
March 24, 2012 by
I hope you go see The Hunger Games. But I hope you don’t have to see it in the company of dozens of 14-year old girls. At my theater, they was audible weeping (I mean, sobbing!) when a much loved character was killed, and there were screeches of delight every time someone “bad” was killed. That […]
A Day Off Means…? 
March 23, 2012 by
My days off are often challenging. All week, I long for some time to do “whatever I want.” And yet, when the day comes, “whatever I want” can be unsatisfying. The chores that I was longing to do during my workweek all of a sudden seem dull and well, like, chores. Sitting on the couch […]
Ash Wednesday Diary
February 23, 2012 by
8:00 a.m. Stop at church to pick up ashes, bread, wine, and the communion kit. 9:00 a.m Visit R.H., who doesn’t leave home much, and her home care aid, M., in Naperville. We talk about the pictures on her walls, mostly painted or drawn by relatives, now long dead. We share ashes and communion. […]
Medical office building 
February 7, 2012 by
“Our church looks like a medical office building,” one of my church folks has said to me, a few times. Here are two views: What do you think? Does it look more like a place for an orthopedist than for a Eucharist? I’m inspired by churches like Rockefeller Chapel. Modern suburban architecture isn’t known for […]
What’s a vicar?
January 25, 2012 by
1.What’s a vicar? “Vicar” is another word for pastor. Maybe you’ve heard of the British TV show, “The Vicar of Dibley.” In Britain, a vicar isn’t just the pastor for the people who show up on Sunday but for their entire town or area – their “parish.” That’s not really the case here in the USA […]
I was a city snob
August 14, 2011 by
When I was growing up in Chicago, I was a snob about the suburbs. A suburb was a place without a soul. A place whose soul, land, and history had been carpeted over with asphalt, sod, and malls. Many of my urban friends still believe this about the suburbs and would never live in one. […]
