One of the ways I express creativity is through cooking, baking particularly, but I'm expanding my repertoire. Part of the grant included a few cooking classes, because I wanted to reinvigorate my love of cooking following the last year of writing my dissertation where I did very little creative cooking. I fell in love with … Continue reading The creative impulse →

We returned from all our travels on July 7th and have been enjoying a couple of weeks of the "back to normal" life. A couple days of jet lag, and getting over a little cold I picked up in the UK led to some pretty serious resting, enabled by a Harry Potter movie marathon. But … Continue reading Divine Mundane →

I saw a stranger yesterday:I put food in the eating place,Drink in the drinking place,Music in the listening place: And in the sacred name of the Triune [God]He blessed myself and my house,My cattle and my dear ones.And the lark said in her songOften, often, oftenGoes the Christ in the stranger’s guise. (Ancient Gaelic rune) … Continue reading Welcoming the stranger →

We have circles of ancestors - the individuals who populate our family tree, the individuals and culture from whom we receive our traditions, and our ancestors in the faith. I have had the great good fortune to connect with all of these circles of ancestors during my sabbatical time. I wrote about some of them … Continue reading Ancestors →

William Bridges writes in his excellent work on transitions that in order to be or do something new, you have to let go of the old. In the 10 days between my two trips during this sabbatical, we acknowledged some big transitions. First, I graduated from Seattle University with my Doctor of Ministry degree. with … Continue reading Transitions →

My last stop on my individual pilgrimage in Ireland was the city of Armagh. This necessitated a trip north into Northern Ireland, technically a different country. The transition was very easy, and the people and towns very similar to the Republic of Ireland. Armagh is St. Patrick's city. There are two St. Patrick's Cathedrals on … Continue reading What is sacred →

The Rule of St. Benedict begins with this word. "Listen...incline the ear of your heart."My time at Glenstal Abbey, a Benedictine monastery, was one of listening. In times when I was not in worship, I turned my attention toward a spiritual practice I learned from Esther de Waal, who writes about Celtic and Benedictine spirituality, … Continue reading Listen →

St. Brigid's CathedralStatue of St. Brigid near a holy wellSt. Brigid's flame - statue in Kildare town square Kildare town was one of the most fascinating places I've been so far. I didn't expect that, but such is the pilgrim experience, surprises round every corner. The town itself is quite small, a village, really. Dropped … Continue reading St. Brigid and the Celtic Christian Imagination →

The last day of the pilgrimage on the Wild Edges of Ireland took us back to the Burren, but to two new locations. The theme of the day was "conversion." We have a slightly different understanding of this word in Protestant America. Conversion is actually an openness to other possibilities, a disposition toward what is … Continue reading Conversion and the end of this journey →

After a day of Sabbath we set out for the Aran Islands. The largest island is called Inis Mor - literally the big island. The ferry journey was a bit wild and we were all glad to reach solid ground. We were met by Dara Malloy, a Celtic priest at-large, who lives on the island. … Continue reading Work and Service →