Today is Ash Wednesday. More than 70 Episcopal parishes in 18 states will bring Ash Wednesday to the streets, kicking off the Lenten season with a twist.They’ll offer the Christian sign of repentance — a smudged cross of ashes on the forehead — to anyone who seeks it in train...

“The early church leaders described the Trinity … [as] an eternal dance of Father, Son, and Spirit sharing mutual love, honor, happiness, joy, and respect.” Brian D. McLaren – A Generous Orthodoxy Most prison chapels have center aisles. This one did. Sometimes the inmates...

Wednesday is the start of the Lenten Season. The tough part of Lent for some is the “giving something up” part. Today at GracePointe we heard that this season, we may see and hear some minimalist messages and worship. The intent is to turn our hearts and reflections toward the God...

It was beautiful, the ever-changing vistas, the cool breeze, the very unexpected sunshine. It was a place that was instantly recognized as sacred. A holy place, made all the more transcendent because of whom I experienced it with. It was Ireland, and we were on a four-course, five-day golf...

If I said to you, “follow me”, wouldn’t you think we were going somewhere, maybe the two of us journeying together? And if someone said ‘follow me”, wouldn’t we assume one person is a kind of guide, and maybe that person already knows the way and wants...

Dear Frank, In a conversation with a well-read friend of mine, he mentioned that I should read some of your books.  I had a B&N gift card and was browsing the religion section looking for the sort of books that I typically read when I stumbled across your memoirs.  Having grown up in a...

from Simple Truths “We may not all live holy lives, but we live in a world alive with holy moments.” This quote is from “Simple Truths” by author Kent Nerburn, writer of two of my “desert island” books, “Neither Wolf Nor Dog” and “The...

One of the creepiest mistakes I ever made was getting off at the wrong subway stop, at the wrong time of day, while traveling by myself when I lived in New York City.  I was making my way from Upstate NY where my husband (then boyfriend) attended college, to my home closer to the city and we...

They speak of original sin. Perhaps there was an  original thought too. Maybe the two are connected, I don’t know. I was thinking that, well for one, I don’t feel like I’ve ever had an original thought.  They all seem to be built upon other thoughts of people I know or...

The most famous swordfight I know about is Inigo Montoya and the six-fingered man in “The Princess Bride.”  Remember how in the Baz Luhrmann remake of “Romeo and Juliet” the swords were guns?  I always thought that was a cool twist.  Swords don’t make much sense any more.  Last...