The expression “for the birds” has always intrigued me. My grandparents and parents employed it when they wanted to discredit a claim, practice,\ or belief as trivial or meaningless. “Wearing shoes with no socks is for the birds,” they might say. In my family, “Nichts taugen (nothing good)!” was the German equivalent. According to Grammarist…
DetailsThe pandemic clearly surfaces some deep cracks in the economic foundations of the world. We invite ourselves today to reflect on our personal economics and the impact our daily choices have on the greater common good. The following “Economic Justice Examen” was prompted and published by two beautiful spirits in Seattle, Washington: Kelly Hickman and…
Details“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” —Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I have a small collection of art supply holders (think pencil bags of our childhood) that have been gifted to me over the years. They remind me of important things…
Details“I included a fellow in my book, Callings, who described an interaction he once had with his seven-year-old daughter. She came to him one day and asked him what he did at work. He told her that he worked at the college, and his job was to teach people how to draw. He said she…
DetailsI am finally reading a book that has been on my to-read list for a very long time: Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv. My sister and I recently attended a Saturday afternoon Zoom book discussion facilitated by Green Iowa AmeriCorps through the Iowa City Public Library. I am still in the process…
DetailsText-critical biblical scholars are often occupied with the arduous, sometimes frustratingly tedious task of studying palimpsests (pronounced ‘paləm(p) sest’). Palimpsests are ancient manuscripts/parchments often made from animal hides in which the original writing has been effaced—usually washed off or scraped off—in order to be reused. Traces of earlier writing remain and are visible, but the overall effect…
DetailsSo many people, resigned to the fact that we can’t go back to pre-pandemic routines, seek to live into a new rhythm post-pandemic. Just a few weeks ago, the New York Times published an article, “Can Spiritual Directors Help?” citing that one gift of meeting with a spiritual director/companion is the opportunity to take a…
Details“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” —Hebrews 10:24–25 The creativity and resilience we foster in one another are only…
DetailsAs the artist-in-residence at Prairiewoods, I recently had the gift of spending a week in one of the Hermitages. The space itself, a compact one-room cottage, invites us to live more simply, to leave behind what is not essential. To slow down and reconnect with our deeper selves and the living world around us. As…
DetailsI am so thankful for good news. Within hours of the inauguration, President Biden signed executive orders addressing climate change. America is rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement. I am so thankful for every single piece of good news, and this statement literally makes me smile every time I think of it. Can we share this…
DetailsWhat happens to our fragile interior sanctuary when sacred space is violated? Victims of abuse will confirm this: in some sense, they never recover. From the Latin root sacer, the word sacred connotes something that is set apart, consecrated or dedicated in service of the Holy. It is the most fundamental connection we experience as…
DetailsAt this week’s end, spurred by the presidential inauguration held just two day ago, we may sense a deeper awareness to commit to our personal and communal inaugurations. As we each attune to shifting energies, we offer you this beautiful song and prayer compelling us all to intentionally step forward, reach across personal and communal…
DetailsYesterday, as I watched the inauguration of Joseph R. Biden, Jr., as the 46th president of the United States, I cried ugly tears. I wiped every bit of makeup off my face as I cried tears of fear, tears of relief, tears of joy. I listened as Biden declared that “we must end this uncivil…
DetailsI love Prairiewoods’ mission to be “a sacred space where people of all faiths and cultures are invited to explore and nurture their relationships with the Source of all being, Earth, self and others with an increasing awareness of the story of the Universe.” The story of the Universe. From our website: As theologian Elizabeth…
DetailsTrees are on my mind these days. This Saturday, we’ll have a Women in Interfaith Dialogue conversation about the trees we’ve known and loved throughout our lives, as well as our spiritual connection with trees personally and within our faith traditions. Then next week (Jan. 25–29) we have a wonderful series of Treasuring Our Trees…
DetailsAn essay published in Christian Century by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in 1957, “Nonviolence and Racial Justice,” echoes afresh in light of current events (Christian Century 74, Feb. 6, 1957: 165–67). In the era of “Black Lives Matter” and the most recent violent foment on Jan. 6 committed at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., so many of us find…
DetailsIn the midst of seemingly contrasting energies in this country and throughout the world, we may be challenged to know what and how to pray. Nan C. Merrill, Psalm scholar and author of Lumen Christi … Holy Wisdom and Psalms for Praying: An Invitation to Wholeness, encourages prayerful meditation of the challenge to continue to…
DetailsThis—as much as any other period in recent history—feels like a time of violence, a time of open hostility and conflict. The world seems dichotomous, as though half of our family and friends are in a completely different world than where we find ourselves. Because of that division, I’m called to the words of Jan…
Details“We should not be ashamed of anger. It’s a very good and a very powerful thing that motivates us. But what we need to be ashamed of is the way we abuse it.” —Mahatma Ghandi Yesterday, I happened upon one of those parody songs that have been proliferating on social media since the start of…
DetailsI am listening to the winter season Watching the sunrises and sunsets Marveling at icy fog in the mornings Noticing the beauty of animal tracks in the snow Feeling the pull of the frozen river Meeting sun dogs in the cold My eye following eagles as they disappear in the sun And praying, praying for…
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