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, […]
Advent: Mr. Tumnus
December 7, 2013 by
Mr. Tumnus meets Lucy at the lamppost and seems like he’s been doing some Christmas shopping, his arms full of packages. He invites her to tea, rather nervously. Tumnus is part domestic and part wild; he’s a faun – half goat and half man. He’s timid, kind, and has a cozy home in a cave. […]
Advent: The Lamp Post
December 4, 2013 by
Lucy has wandered into the woods of Narnia from the wardrobe door, when she sees a lamp light, glowing in the snow; “…she stood looking at it, wondering why there was a lamp post in the middle of a wood and wondering what to do next.” Advent is a season for hope and expectation. The lamp […]
Advent: About Lucy 
December 2, 2013 by
These are taken from the book The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, a story that stands by itself but also was written with Christian undertones and symbolism and many Advent themes. Buy the book (on Amazon or Kindle or any bookstore) or watch one of the movie versions. Lucy and her sister and brothers have […]
Advent Devotions By Email
November 26, 2013 by
This Advent, I’m writing an email devotion for my congregation every other day with my colleague, Liz Meade, who’s our postulant intern this winter. If you want in, you can sign up on the left hand column of this blog page. You can sign up or unsubscribe at any time – nothing personal. I’m going to […]
Gratitude and A Recipe 
November 26, 2013 by
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 […]
Loving Your Neighbor (in the Suburbs) 
November 21, 2013 by
Jesus said: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” In my subdivision, we just kind of wave. We wave as we come and go – as we drive in and drive out. As we work in the yard. As we get the mail. We wave and we sometimes ask, “How are you?” The other day, I was […]
Other People’s Homes in Mexico
November 19, 2013 by
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 […]
Love in Illinois
November 5, 2013 by
Just today (today!) I heard someone refer to the recent commitment ceremony of two women I love as their… “to-do.” It’s been hard to know what to call a “lifelong commitment ceremony” even for those of us who believe in marriage equality with all our hearts. First of all, that’s altogether too many syllables to […]
Paper Cutter Love
October 23, 2013 by
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 […]
