Tag Archives: peace

Ordinary Wednesday: I am not a calm blue ocean

Something I have been thinking about a lot this year is how to be what rabbi and psychologist Edwin Friedman called a “non-anxious presence”. Friedman observed that tight-knit communities like families and churches often had such complex networks of relationships and emotional histories that addressing one relational issue was often difficult because of all theContinue reading “Ordinary Wednesday: I am not a calm blue ocean”

Christmas 6: Nunc Dimittis

The story of Simeon has given the church one of its oldest hymns, called the “Nunc Dimittis”, after the first two Latin words of the song: “Now dismiss…” There have been many musical versions of Simeon’s song, but today’s poem takes as its inspiration a modern setting by the living Swiss composer Carl Rütti. Rütti’sContinue reading “Christmas 6: Nunc Dimittis”

Streets to Live In (Glenroy Lent #4)

For now, where do we live? These streets are made for walking: quiet, reflective, built atop a hill where the cityscape sinks beneath a thoughtful gaze. No walls to be broken, no walls to repair; watered gardens greet the roaming eye, and here an expectant couple waits at the edge of the evening street. FruitContinue reading “Streets to Live In (Glenroy Lent #4)”

Damascus Road: Pre-War

In Damascus, people whisper when out in public. When a waiter arrives at a table, people stop talking… Then he said what I kept hearing over and over on this trip: “Syrians cannot do this to other Syrians.” (Janine di Giovanni, “Seven Days in Syria”) In the days before spring burst in war, some stillContinue reading “Damascus Road: Pre-War”

The Last Post

Clouds drift; distant, the birds sing. The courtyard sunk in silence sits. Somewhere cars continue the day, and floating in the distance thoughts of mateship dearly bought, and peace woven where no need for war had driven us to foreign shores, repeat: We shall remember them. This has no glory, only silence. And in theContinue reading “The Last Post”

Catechism 37

Catechism 37 How does the Holy Spirit help us? The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin, comforts us, guides us, gives us spiritual gifts and the desire to obey God; and he enables us to pray and to understand God’s Word. (New City Catechism) Dove: my best attempts are straw. My righteousness is dust,Continue reading “Catechism 37”