Recently, Henry and I spent a Sunday afternoon in the small town of Tubac, Arizona. Like a number of smaller western towns (such as Silver City, New Mexico, where we used to live), Tubac is surviving, even thriving, by encouraging the development of a tourist-based...
Henry and I are members of the Tucson Cactus and Succulent Society. We joined this educational organization when we moved to Arizona, wanting to learn more about the various cacti in our new neighborhood. In addition to monthly educational meetings for adults (which...
This past week we celebrated Halloween. The Christian church followed that with celebrations of All Saints and All Souls. It’s the time of year—at least in the northern hemisphere—when many plants are dying, or appearing to succumb to mortality, although in many...
I’m focusing on mortality this week—but not because of Halloween. This coming Saturday, I’m leading a workshop for a rather unusual retreat. St. Philip’s Church is hosting an All Souls’ Day Retreat: “Embracing Mortality: Christian Perspectives on Death and Dying.” The...
With this post, I’m concluding my series on community. I’ve pondered priorities, society’s challenges, and sharing our gifts. In this post, I’m going to reflect on one process for living as loving companions in communities of all kinds, including Christian. Many of...
As I explored last week, American society does not encourage mutual support. The multiple rules and regulations which govern our social fabric make it more difficult for us to live as the first Christians did, distributing our abundance as gifts to the entire...
As I noted last week, I’m reflecting on a recent series of church conversations about beloved community. In one conversation, we noted how America remains a stubbornly individualistic society, while our faith tradition shows us the great value in maintaining common...
On Wednesday evenings this past month, members of my church (that “my” is intended loosely!), St. Philip’s in the Hills Episcopal Church, have been gathering to talk about “beloved community.” These discussions have been led by members of the Beloved in the Desert...
Early this morning was the autumn equinox in the northern hemisphere. At that point, Mother Earth was balanced and aligned. Already, her head is tilting, the northern hemisphere angling toward winter…but, for a moment, there was balance. Our lives can be like that....
