It was probably in the fall of 1979 that Pat Gration turned to me and suggested that I take acting classes. Pat was a professional actor and the spouse of Eric, the rector of the church in which I grew up. She and I were in a radio show that the church had set up. We were in one room on a mic while parishioners were in another listening on an old time radio. I think I played “boy.” Her interest in me and the reflection back to me of what she thought led to years of involvemen

Here we are in the last week of Epiphany, and next week we will gather in the evening for Shrove Tuesday dinner, and then burn the palms, and say farewell to including the Alleluias in our prayers until the Easter Vigil.   The Daily Office comprises Morning Prayer, Noonday Prayer, Evening Prayer, and Compline. The Invitatory Psalm, one of the opening portions of Morning Prayer, includes an  Antiphon  appropriate to the season, that is said before and after the Invitatory Psal

Dear friends, In this season of Epiphany, our gospel lessons have emphasized the Incarnation of Christ among us and his glorification – texts that set the tone for the rest of the year.  They also point to the future age – the final age of the Spirit, when, as the Lord’s Prayer says, heaven and earth are joined in God’s will.  We thus, in Epiphany, look forward with faith, even as we endure implacable cold, and the times in which we now live can be daunting. It takes a bit of

Dear people of God in The Episcopal Church:  Like Jesus, we live in frightening times. His earthly ministry began, as we heard in Sunday’s Gospel reading , when John the Baptist was imprisoned by authorities who wanted to silence his preaching and prophesying.  Jesus knew what happens when earthly powers persuade human beings to fear one another, regard one another as strangers, and believe that there is not enough to go around. In Jesus’ time, the power of these divisions m

Beloved of God, ​ So many with whom I connect in my daily life are expressing the difficulty of bearing the state of the world while continuing to function in their everyday lives. Whether from Minnesota, Venezuela, or Greenland, the news feels heavy, stressful, and frightening. Yet, just as in that first Epiphany in first-century Judea, God shows up, like a star in the sky. Like a voice from heaven proclaiming belovedness. Like a miracle and a promise of continued abundance