A Positively Poetic Priest

'I saw a woman in the mirror in the lobby out of the corner of my eye and I registered her as a friend. It was only when I stopped to wave did I realize I was seeing myself.' I don't know where I heard this story,  but as someone who has struggled with self-love, it was a very attractive story. Could I have ever accidentally mistake myself for a friend? I hoped it could be true.  I spent years working on rebuilding my self love. Part of that was reclaiming how I looked, the clothes I wore, the way I did my hair, the feel of my body.   Do I have a great sense of fashion now?  No. Am I happier about what I wear and why and how I look?  Yes.  Am I always happy with those things?  No.  But I agree with Karen Williams.  We all look our best when we are excited and passionate about what we are doing.  When the inner joy shines forth so brightly that nothing else matters.  That is radiance. #RadiantRebellion

I love food.  The tastes, the smells, the experience of eating.  I even like gardening and the creation of food. The cooking and baking processes of making individual items into marvelous meals.  My digestive system has a much more complicated relationship with food. There are many things my digestive system overreacts to or feels the need to attack.  Over the years of trying to figure out what my digestive system will tolerate I've had to change my focus on eating for wellness  and learn to create the things I like with the ingredients my body also likes. Its not an immediate change in mindset. It takes time and energy and reminders. Because eating is such a communal experience, it has also taken community adjustment. Finding family and friends who will support my journey and focus on wellness.  I have found that my focus on wellness has been a little bit contagious.  As others have supported me in focusing on digestive wellness, others have been insp...

 "Way way back many centuries ago, not long after the Bible began Jacob lived in the land of Canaan, a fine example of a family man Jacob - Jacob and sons - depended on farming to earn their keep Jacob - Jacob and sons - spent all of their days in the fields with sheep Jacob was the founder of a whole new nation Thanks to the number of children he'd had He was also known as Israel, but most of the time His sons and his wives used to call him dad Jacob, Jacob and sons, men of the soil, of the sheaf and crook Jacob, Jacob and sons, a remarkable family in anyone's book Reuben was the eldest of the children of Israel With Simeon and Levi the next in line Napthali and Isaachar with Asher and Dan Zebulun and Gad took the total to nine Jacob, Jacob and sons, Benjamin and Judah, which leaves only one Jacob, Jacob and sons, Joseph -- Jacob's favorite son Jacob, Jacob and sons! When I was a child I learned the entire 1982 Broadway Musical recording of Joseph and the Technicolor ...

It is a party! Confetti, music, a disco ball, and a new book! Of course its a party. I'll see y'all later. #jointheradiantrebellion

  Girls are taught far too young to have problems with their age. Facial creams, hiding from the sun, not acknowledging our age, these practices deny the truth and our full lived experience.  (Okay, no one should spend too much time in the sun anyway) I'm in my mid-thirties and people are starting to comment on my new streaks of grey hair as if it was a problem. I'm also going to be considered a young person in the church for another ten years... Too young to lead or have a wise voice, so my relationship to ageism is complex. Grey hair is not the problem. Our cultural refusal to come to terms with the privilege of aging is a problem.  For someone who considered committing suicide earlier in my life, all my laugh lines, frown lines, and grey hairs are trophies. Trophies of days I didn't want live, but kept living. Joys and sorrows weathered.  I can't wait to read Karen Walrond's new book, Radiant Rebellion. I don't know what is in it, yet! I do know Karen will re...

 Make yourselves comfortable. I'm going to mention some hard and upsetting things today. If you're not in a mental place to be able to deal with hard or upsetting things today, please zone out for a little while. For all of you who normally write your grocery list during the sermon, the cherries were looking particularly good yesterday at the store. I'm going to talk about evil today. Evil is a fascinating subject. You might think that evil is not a particularly good theme for Labor Day weekend, however, Labor Day has its roots as a celebration of good overcoming evil. Labor Day is a celebration of workers. The Labor Day holiday was created after the union developments of better benefits, official work hours, and better company representation. Which all came after the exploitation of laborers and the Haymarket riot in Chicago before 1882. Unfortunately, despite Labor Day people are still exploited for their labor. People are still abused and bullied by companies, managers, ...