Journeying with the Magi

Advent is now long behind us (well, it seems long to me), we areat the end of Christmas, and Epiphany lies ahead of us.  I am lucky; unlike most people who must return to a daily schedule as soon as the New Year is in place, I generally have an extra week to clean out the old and make space for the new, and recover from the extra services and extra music that have filled the season just past.  These are the moments when I file the old music and ready the new; finish the readings devoted to the liturgical season and select those for the coming weeks and the coming…
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The season’s gift…

Sometimes, if we pay attention, we can learn more about ourselves by watching our likes and our dislikes than we can through all the torturous hours spent in personal inventory and contemplation. I'm talking about Christmas gifts.  Yes, Christmas gifts. I have rules about Christmas gifts.  I finish my shopping no later than the first week of December, always.  That doesn't mean that I don't shop after that date, but I want to know that the important, core gifts for people who really matter are acquired and wrapped by that date.  Anything else I see after that or purchase is, well, serendipity.  And, oh yes, I don't like malls.   I…
Read More

Journeying with the Magi

Advent is now long behind us (well, it seems long to me), we areat the end of Christmas, and Epiphany lies ahead of us.  I am lucky; unlike most people who must return to a daily schedule as soon as the New Year is in place, I generally have an extra week to clean out the old and make space for the new, and recover from the extra services and extra music that have filled the season just past.  These are the moments when I file the old music and ready the new; finish the readings devoted to the liturgical season and select those for the coming weeks and the coming…
Read More

The season’s gift…

Sometimes, if we pay attention, we can learn more about ourselves by watching our likes and our dislikes than we can through all the torturous hours spent in personal inventory and contemplation. I'm talking about Christmas gifts.  Yes, Christmas gifts. I have rules about Christmas gifts.  I finish my shopping no later than the first week of December, always.  That doesn't mean that I don't shop after that date, but I want to know that the important, core gifts for people who really matter are acquired and wrapped by that date.  Anything else I see after that or purchase is, well, serendipity.  And, oh yes, I don't like malls.   I…
Read More