During Advent I went one Wednesday night to St. George Antiochian Orthodox Cathedral in Pittsburgh. I was surprised to hear a service that was new to me: Not the ordinary Vespers, but the “Advent Paraklesis.” As in so much of Orthodox worship, the hymns carry a huge freight of theology. As always there is much […]
Being a Pastor in Dicey Political Times (Letters to a Young Pastor)
Dear ______: Ah yes, the political question. How do you be a pastor to a congregation in dicey political times? You are wise to consider this now, while you are in seminary. But don’t be surprised if, down the road, the dynamics life with an actual congregation prompt you to deal with it differently than you plan to. […]
Lectio Divina on the Song of Simeon
St Simeon the God Receiver What does it mean to receive God? What does it mean to “see” your salvation? Those are questions that come to mind when you pray your way through “The Song of Simeon,” the old man to whom Mary introduced the Baby Jesus in the Temple. The Orthodox call him “St. Simeon the […]
On Memory and Creative Work (The Writer’s Inner Life)
These are bitter cold days in Pittsburgh where I live. At this latitude these are also short days; among the shortest of the year, with either gray gloom or low glaring winter sun. It can be hard to simply be. Add in the busyness of the ramp-up to Christmas and it can be very hard to […]
An Open Letter to the Electors of the Electoral College
Below you will find an open letter to the Electors of the United States Electoral College for 2016. Yesterday I sent a very slightly different version to each of the electors for my home state of Pennsylvania. It may appear off of my usual historical and theological topics, but it is not. Theologically, this is […]
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