The first section of T.S. Eliot’s epic poem, The Waste Land, published in 1922, is entitled, “The Burial of the Dead.” That is the title of the funeral service from the Church of England’s Book of Common Prayer during Eliot’s time as it is the title of the service in The Episcopal Church’s Book ofContinue reading “April is the Cruelest Month”
Tag Archives: religious writing
Spiritual but not Religious
In my experience the declaration that “I’m spiritual but not religious” is often greeted by a collective eye-roll in church circles. For many of us affiliated with formal church or faith organizations, it can seem a ridiculous thing to say. What we think we’re hearing is “I’m spiritual but not yet religious.”
Finding God on the other side of Halloween
Let us stipulate that God seems very far from the commercial extravaganza that now surrounds Halloween. I am much more likely to find God on the other side of Halloween, on November 1st, when we observe All Saints’ Day. All Saints’ Day is a day to remember all of the saints who have passed throughContinue reading “Finding God on the other side of Halloween”
Three Everyday Thin Places
You don’t have to travel thousands of miles to find a thin place. In fact, it’s important to find them in your everyday life. But, you have to be looking for them. Here are three thin places that I try to visit on a regular basis.
Finding God at Elmina Castle
Each time I approach Elmina Castle on the Cape Coast of Ghana, I am struck by the beauty of its setting. The Castle sits on a bluff looking out over the Atlantic Ocean. Swaying palms. Breaking waves. Shimmering white sand on an endless beach. Blazing saffron sunsets. However, the beauty is counterfeit. Evil permeates Elmina.
The Old City of Jerusalem
The Old City in Jerusalem is chockablock with thin places. Countless worship and pilgrimage sites for the three Abrahamic faiths are packed within one square kilometer. I find it all overwhelming. For the most part I have not experienced the transcendent power of being in a thin place when I am in the OldContinue reading “The Old City of Jerusalem”
On the lookout for thin places
Have you ever had the sensation that the barrier between the temporal and the eternal has become porous or indeed disappeared entirely? Then you’ve found a “thin place.” One of my goals in this blog is to share my experiences of those places with you so that you can be on the lookout as well.
Hearing God’s Voice on Middle Path
Middle Path runs right through the center of Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. The Middle Path, or as Anglicans and Episcopalians call it, the via media, is the path between Roman Catholicism and Puritanism. It is by following the via media that one comes closest to finding the truth. But, can you also find GodContinue reading “Hearing God’s Voice on Middle Path”
Is there room for God in your carry-on bag?
Do you ever feel you leave God behind when you enter the gates of hell that our airports have become? You don’t have to. Here are 5 strategies that I’ve found helpful in bringing God with me when I travel.
Rob's Reflections 