We had one more wonderful morning of VBC. The rain came, but we were flexible, and it was GOOD! Thank you so much for… Remembering sunscreen – if it isn’t raining! Remembering hydration before and after VBC. Personal water bottles are welcome – please label...
Today we pause from our busy schedules to remember 68.5 million adults and children worldwide who have been displaced due to war, poverty, persecution, natural disasters, and other traumatic events. World Refugee Day is held each year on this day to draw our attention to our responsibility...
Joel 2:13b - 14. Return to the Lord, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing. Return to the Lord your God. With Ash Wednesday, Lent begins. It is a time of reflection, a time to slow down, to look deeper, to give...
Just over a year ago, my wife, Kelly, and I visited Primm Tabernacle African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in South Seattle. Primm is less than a mile from our house. Our visit four days after the horrific shooting at Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston, SC, was not accidental. I longed to do...
Today was our last full day in the Skagit Valley. The only thing we’ll be doing tomorrow is packing up our campsite and loading up cars to go home. I can’t imagine a better last day…nor could I have predicted how much such a short an “immersion” into the lives of...
Think of your “normal” day. When you wake up in the morning, do you have a good idea of what you will be doing? Do you have a schedule you try to keep? Is your life at least somewhat predictable? The community we come from has, at least, the illusion of predictability. Whether it is...
The berry season in the Skagit Valley starts in late May or early June and runs through late October. The first crop is strawberries which are the hardest to pick. Picking strawberries means straddling a row of plants, bent at the waist, and picking as you walk along hunched over. The...
Although I work at Congregations for the Homeless, I don’t have much contact with our clients. I’m the I.T. Guy, so I mostly work with the office staff and case managers. I stop by the various computer labs, but it’s easier to do my work when nobody’s using the...
On a hot afternoon, while walking to the Bellevue Library, I heard a soft “Hello.” A woman sat in the shadows on a cement bench under the 12th Street overpass. My step hesitated, our eyes met, and I responded, “Hello." She wore a black coat with a gaping rip in the sleeve. Her...
In April I attended an enrichment day for spiritual directors at the Ignatian Spirituality Center in Seattle. These events are a wonderful time to gather with spiritual directors of other faith traditions and enjoy a time of refreshment and renewal for all. The presenters were Christine...