Singing Along the Journey

formation

Testifying to the light

Today is the second Sunday of Advent when we light the candle of peace in my faith community, and I am sitting at my desk, looking out the window, watching the few snow flakes that came disappear and change to freezing rain. What we meditate upon each week in Advent is not set by some great rule book; different communities follow different patterns and in my church family it happens to be Hope, Peace, Joy, Love.  Other churches follow other rituals:  for the Methodists, the Sundays represent expectation, hope, joy, and purity; sometimes it is promise, light, love and hope...you see the point; the meaning of this Sunday can be different,…
Read More

Watch for the dawn…

Everywhere in the world I have traveled, on at least one day, I make it a point to rise in the dark, grab my camera, and go to some advantageous point to sit and wait for the sunrise.  Some people like sunsets; I crave the moment when dawn breaks.  The picture I've included here is a picture of the sun rising over the Sea of Galilee, but I could just as easily have shown you dawn over Mexico, Spain, Bulgaria, Arizona and many other places...you can imagine that my photo file is somewhat difficult to manage. You see, in that moment when darkness becomes light, I see all the possibilities…
Read More

The right word…

Do you ever sit and struggle to find just that right word to say what is in your heart?  I know I do.  I am not a person who reworks what I write a lot...and you can probably tell that when you find a misspelling here or there or a wrongly used clause or some of the other mistakes I make while dashing on one of these pieces about "what I think" about such and such. But years of therapy and spiritual direction and reading and writing have taught me that words do indeed have power and must be chosen carefully. So what about those times when we know the word…
Read More

Knowing it in your bones…

If you described my religious identity as a child as, well, confused, you would be generous.  Raised and confirmed Presbyterian, reading the Daily Word from Unity School of Religious Science every morning with my vitamins as I left to school, attending Sunday school at the United Church of Christ, going to Youth Group with my friends at the United Methodist church.  And in the quiet hours of Advent, alone in my room, building what I thought looked like a reasonable approximation of a Catholic altar -- putting a nativity on one side of the dresser and a lit Christmas tree on the other (before you liturgical purists get all up…
Read More

Just what do we mean by…faith

Lately, I have had a lot of time and motivation to think about the meaning of the word "faith"...in addition to my studies last year about faith development and the paper I'm trying to gear up to write,  I had a chance to facilitate our summer Sunday school class, leading them through a discussion of that chapter in Marcus Borg's Speaking Christian, not to mention other more personal reasons to continue my reflections.  It seems to be the word of the moment . So, in preparation for my upcoming paper on the topic of faith development and adult learning styles, I pulled out some of the things I wrote last…
Read More

What I’ve Learned So Far, Part 4: Matthew 7:3-5

I'm wrapping up a very compact two week summer term at seminary and as I pause to take stock of my learning and formation to date, and, in particular, what I've gathered and incorporated these past two weeks, I cannot help but hear over and over some wise words my mother stole from Matthew 7:3-5-- 3 Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your neighbor, b ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while the log is in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye,…
Read More

Living the dream…

Each day on our journey here in Israel has been, for me, a day of dream fulfillment.  But none so much as the last two days, and in particular today.   I can still see the room where the orientation meeting for my first try at going to Israel was held at the University of Missouri - Kansas City when I was 20 years old -- I can see Dr. Schulz and Dr. Klausner talking about what the trip would be like.  And I can remember the feeling of disappointment when the trip was cancelled for some reason that I do not recall.  And I can remember just this last fall my feeling…
Read More

What I’ve Learned So Far…Part 3 — The Movie

I had the opportunity to pursue some independent study this semester along with my more conventional classes.  And as my chosen project to explore the use of new technologies in faith development and congregational life, I decided to make a movie.    Susan, a movie?  You decided to make a movie?  Yes, indeed. Why, you might ask?  Well, for a lot of reasons.  First, I like to stay current with technology and I live in world now where every time I turn around someone is taking a video of something and posting it somewhere for the world to see.  Second, of all the technologies that are "current", video was the…
Read More

Good morning, Galilee…

Greetings, one and all, from the shores of the Sea of Galilee.  After a very long day of travel (well, more than a day), I am here safe and sound, and, after a great dinner and a decent night’s sleep, I am ready for our first day of exploration.  It is hard to call it sightseeing and I don’t feel quite holy enough or at the moment theological enough to refer to it as a pilgrimage. But what I can tell you is that I am here…and true to form, I feel nothing that I expected to feel.  As usual, it took some sleep and a little exercise to bring…
Read More

It all happens at the gate…

Having spent these last weeks deeply immersed in learning to translate Biblical Hebrew by translating the entire book of Ruth, the word sha'ar or gate has become a regular part of my Hebrew vocabulary and my thinking about community life. You see, in the ancient world, the gate of the town was the most important place (that is, in Near Eastern culture -- once the Romans came along that would switch to the marketplace or forum).  Everything happened at the gate -- that was where important contractual business happened, where news was shared (or gossip, depending on your point of view), that was where you went if you needed help,…
Read More

Testifying to the light

Today is the second Sunday of Advent when we light the candle of peace in my faith community, and I am sitting at my desk, looking out the window, watching the few snow flakes that came disappear and change to freezing rain. What we meditate upon each week in Advent is not set by some great rule book; different communities follow different patterns and in my church family it happens to be Hope, Peace, Joy, Love.  Other churches follow other rituals:  for the Methodists, the Sundays represent expectation, hope, joy, and purity; sometimes it is promise, light, love and hope...you see the point; the meaning of this Sunday can be different,…
Read More

Watch for the dawn…

Everywhere in the world I have traveled, on at least one day, I make it a point to rise in the dark, grab my camera, and go to some advantageous point to sit and wait for the sunrise.  Some people like sunsets; I crave the moment when dawn breaks.  The picture I've included here is a picture of the sun rising over the Sea of Galilee, but I could just as easily have shown you dawn over Mexico, Spain, Bulgaria, Arizona and many other places...you can imagine that my photo file is somewhat difficult to manage. You see, in that moment when darkness becomes light, I see all the possibilities…
Read More

The right word…

Do you ever sit and struggle to find just that right word to say what is in your heart?  I know I do.  I am not a person who reworks what I write a lot...and you can probably tell that when you find a misspelling here or there or a wrongly used clause or some of the other mistakes I make while dashing on one of these pieces about "what I think" about such and such. But years of therapy and spiritual direction and reading and writing have taught me that words do indeed have power and must be chosen carefully. So what about those times when we know the word…
Read More

Knowing it in your bones…

If you described my religious identity as a child as, well, confused, you would be generous.  Raised and confirmed Presbyterian, reading the Daily Word from Unity School of Religious Science every morning with my vitamins as I left to school, attending Sunday school at the United Church of Christ, going to Youth Group with my friends at the United Methodist church.  And in the quiet hours of Advent, alone in my room, building what I thought looked like a reasonable approximation of a Catholic altar -- putting a nativity on one side of the dresser and a lit Christmas tree on the other (before you liturgical purists get all up…
Read More

Just what do we mean by…faith

Lately, I have had a lot of time and motivation to think about the meaning of the word "faith"...in addition to my studies last year about faith development and the paper I'm trying to gear up to write,  I had a chance to facilitate our summer Sunday school class, leading them through a discussion of that chapter in Marcus Borg's Speaking Christian, not to mention other more personal reasons to continue my reflections.  It seems to be the word of the moment . So, in preparation for my upcoming paper on the topic of faith development and adult learning styles, I pulled out some of the things I wrote last…
Read More

What I’ve Learned So Far, Part 4: Matthew 7:3-5

I'm wrapping up a very compact two week summer term at seminary and as I pause to take stock of my learning and formation to date, and, in particular, what I've gathered and incorporated these past two weeks, I cannot help but hear over and over some wise words my mother stole from Matthew 7:3-5-- 3 Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your neighbor, b ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while the log is in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye,…
Read More

Living the dream…

Each day on our journey here in Israel has been, for me, a day of dream fulfillment.  But none so much as the last two days, and in particular today.   I can still see the room where the orientation meeting for my first try at going to Israel was held at the University of Missouri - Kansas City when I was 20 years old -- I can see Dr. Schulz and Dr. Klausner talking about what the trip would be like.  And I can remember the feeling of disappointment when the trip was cancelled for some reason that I do not recall.  And I can remember just this last fall my feeling…
Read More

What I’ve Learned So Far…Part 3 — The Movie

I had the opportunity to pursue some independent study this semester along with my more conventional classes.  And as my chosen project to explore the use of new technologies in faith development and congregational life, I decided to make a movie.    Susan, a movie?  You decided to make a movie?  Yes, indeed. Why, you might ask?  Well, for a lot of reasons.  First, I like to stay current with technology and I live in world now where every time I turn around someone is taking a video of something and posting it somewhere for the world to see.  Second, of all the technologies that are "current", video was the…
Read More

Good morning, Galilee…

Greetings, one and all, from the shores of the Sea of Galilee.  After a very long day of travel (well, more than a day), I am here safe and sound, and, after a great dinner and a decent night’s sleep, I am ready for our first day of exploration.  It is hard to call it sightseeing and I don’t feel quite holy enough or at the moment theological enough to refer to it as a pilgrimage. But what I can tell you is that I am here…and true to form, I feel nothing that I expected to feel.  As usual, it took some sleep and a little exercise to bring…
Read More

It all happens at the gate…

Having spent these last weeks deeply immersed in learning to translate Biblical Hebrew by translating the entire book of Ruth, the word sha'ar or gate has become a regular part of my Hebrew vocabulary and my thinking about community life. You see, in the ancient world, the gate of the town was the most important place (that is, in Near Eastern culture -- once the Romans came along that would switch to the marketplace or forum).  Everything happened at the gate -- that was where important contractual business happened, where news was shared (or gossip, depending on your point of view), that was where you went if you needed help,…
Read More

Testifying to the light

Today is the second Sunday of Advent when we light the candle of peace in my faith community, and I am sitting at my desk, looking out the window, watching the few snow flakes that came disappear and change to freezing rain. What we meditate upon each week in Advent is not set by some great rule book; different communities follow different patterns and in my church family it happens to be Hope, Peace, Joy, Love.  Other churches follow other rituals:  for the Methodists, the Sundays represent expectation, hope, joy, and purity; sometimes it is promise, light, love and hope...you see the point; the meaning of this Sunday can be different,…
Read More

Watch for the dawn…

Everywhere in the world I have traveled, on at least one day, I make it a point to rise in the dark, grab my camera, and go to some advantageous point to sit and wait for the sunrise.  Some people like sunsets; I crave the moment when dawn breaks.  The picture I've included here is a picture of the sun rising over the Sea of Galilee, but I could just as easily have shown you dawn over Mexico, Spain, Bulgaria, Arizona and many other places...you can imagine that my photo file is somewhat difficult to manage. You see, in that moment when darkness becomes light, I see all the possibilities…
Read More

The right word…

Do you ever sit and struggle to find just that right word to say what is in your heart?  I know I do.  I am not a person who reworks what I write a lot...and you can probably tell that when you find a misspelling here or there or a wrongly used clause or some of the other mistakes I make while dashing on one of these pieces about "what I think" about such and such. But years of therapy and spiritual direction and reading and writing have taught me that words do indeed have power and must be chosen carefully. So what about those times when we know the word…
Read More

Knowing it in your bones…

If you described my religious identity as a child as, well, confused, you would be generous.  Raised and confirmed Presbyterian, reading the Daily Word from Unity School of Religious Science every morning with my vitamins as I left to school, attending Sunday school at the United Church of Christ, going to Youth Group with my friends at the United Methodist church.  And in the quiet hours of Advent, alone in my room, building what I thought looked like a reasonable approximation of a Catholic altar -- putting a nativity on one side of the dresser and a lit Christmas tree on the other (before you liturgical purists get all up…
Read More

Just what do we mean by…faith

Lately, I have had a lot of time and motivation to think about the meaning of the word "faith"...in addition to my studies last year about faith development and the paper I'm trying to gear up to write,  I had a chance to facilitate our summer Sunday school class, leading them through a discussion of that chapter in Marcus Borg's Speaking Christian, not to mention other more personal reasons to continue my reflections.  It seems to be the word of the moment . So, in preparation for my upcoming paper on the topic of faith development and adult learning styles, I pulled out some of the things I wrote last…
Read More

What I’ve Learned So Far, Part 4: Matthew 7:3-5

I'm wrapping up a very compact two week summer term at seminary and as I pause to take stock of my learning and formation to date, and, in particular, what I've gathered and incorporated these past two weeks, I cannot help but hear over and over some wise words my mother stole from Matthew 7:3-5-- 3 Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your neighbor, b ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while the log is in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye,…
Read More

Living the dream…

Each day on our journey here in Israel has been, for me, a day of dream fulfillment.  But none so much as the last two days, and in particular today.   I can still see the room where the orientation meeting for my first try at going to Israel was held at the University of Missouri - Kansas City when I was 20 years old -- I can see Dr. Schulz and Dr. Klausner talking about what the trip would be like.  And I can remember the feeling of disappointment when the trip was cancelled for some reason that I do not recall.  And I can remember just this last fall my feeling…
Read More

What I’ve Learned So Far…Part 3 — The Movie

I had the opportunity to pursue some independent study this semester along with my more conventional classes.  And as my chosen project to explore the use of new technologies in faith development and congregational life, I decided to make a movie.    Susan, a movie?  You decided to make a movie?  Yes, indeed. Why, you might ask?  Well, for a lot of reasons.  First, I like to stay current with technology and I live in world now where every time I turn around someone is taking a video of something and posting it somewhere for the world to see.  Second, of all the technologies that are "current", video was the…
Read More

Good morning, Galilee…

Greetings, one and all, from the shores of the Sea of Galilee.  After a very long day of travel (well, more than a day), I am here safe and sound, and, after a great dinner and a decent night’s sleep, I am ready for our first day of exploration.  It is hard to call it sightseeing and I don’t feel quite holy enough or at the moment theological enough to refer to it as a pilgrimage. But what I can tell you is that I am here…and true to form, I feel nothing that I expected to feel.  As usual, it took some sleep and a little exercise to bring…
Read More

It all happens at the gate…

Having spent these last weeks deeply immersed in learning to translate Biblical Hebrew by translating the entire book of Ruth, the word sha'ar or gate has become a regular part of my Hebrew vocabulary and my thinking about community life. You see, in the ancient world, the gate of the town was the most important place (that is, in Near Eastern culture -- once the Romans came along that would switch to the marketplace or forum).  Everything happened at the gate -- that was where important contractual business happened, where news was shared (or gossip, depending on your point of view), that was where you went if you needed help,…
Read More

Testifying to the light

Today is the second Sunday of Advent when we light the candle of peace in my faith community, and I am sitting at my desk, looking out the window, watching the few snow flakes that came disappear and change to freezing rain. What we meditate upon each week in Advent is not set by some great rule book; different communities follow different patterns and in my church family it happens to be Hope, Peace, Joy, Love.  Other churches follow other rituals:  for the Methodists, the Sundays represent expectation, hope, joy, and purity; sometimes it is promise, light, love and hope...you see the point; the meaning of this Sunday can be different,…
Read More

Watch for the dawn…

Everywhere in the world I have traveled, on at least one day, I make it a point to rise in the dark, grab my camera, and go to some advantageous point to sit and wait for the sunrise.  Some people like sunsets; I crave the moment when dawn breaks.  The picture I've included here is a picture of the sun rising over the Sea of Galilee, but I could just as easily have shown you dawn over Mexico, Spain, Bulgaria, Arizona and many other places...you can imagine that my photo file is somewhat difficult to manage. You see, in that moment when darkness becomes light, I see all the possibilities…
Read More

The right word…

Do you ever sit and struggle to find just that right word to say what is in your heart?  I know I do.  I am not a person who reworks what I write a lot...and you can probably tell that when you find a misspelling here or there or a wrongly used clause or some of the other mistakes I make while dashing on one of these pieces about "what I think" about such and such. But years of therapy and spiritual direction and reading and writing have taught me that words do indeed have power and must be chosen carefully. So what about those times when we know the word…
Read More

Knowing it in your bones…

If you described my religious identity as a child as, well, confused, you would be generous.  Raised and confirmed Presbyterian, reading the Daily Word from Unity School of Religious Science every morning with my vitamins as I left to school, attending Sunday school at the United Church of Christ, going to Youth Group with my friends at the United Methodist church.  And in the quiet hours of Advent, alone in my room, building what I thought looked like a reasonable approximation of a Catholic altar -- putting a nativity on one side of the dresser and a lit Christmas tree on the other (before you liturgical purists get all up…
Read More

Just what do we mean by…faith

Lately, I have had a lot of time and motivation to think about the meaning of the word "faith"...in addition to my studies last year about faith development and the paper I'm trying to gear up to write,  I had a chance to facilitate our summer Sunday school class, leading them through a discussion of that chapter in Marcus Borg's Speaking Christian, not to mention other more personal reasons to continue my reflections.  It seems to be the word of the moment . So, in preparation for my upcoming paper on the topic of faith development and adult learning styles, I pulled out some of the things I wrote last…
Read More

What I’ve Learned So Far, Part 4: Matthew 7:3-5

I'm wrapping up a very compact two week summer term at seminary and as I pause to take stock of my learning and formation to date, and, in particular, what I've gathered and incorporated these past two weeks, I cannot help but hear over and over some wise words my mother stole from Matthew 7:3-5-- 3 Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your neighbor, b ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while the log is in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye,…
Read More

Living the dream…

Each day on our journey here in Israel has been, for me, a day of dream fulfillment.  But none so much as the last two days, and in particular today.   I can still see the room where the orientation meeting for my first try at going to Israel was held at the University of Missouri - Kansas City when I was 20 years old -- I can see Dr. Schulz and Dr. Klausner talking about what the trip would be like.  And I can remember the feeling of disappointment when the trip was cancelled for some reason that I do not recall.  And I can remember just this last fall my feeling…
Read More

What I’ve Learned So Far…Part 3 — The Movie

I had the opportunity to pursue some independent study this semester along with my more conventional classes.  And as my chosen project to explore the use of new technologies in faith development and congregational life, I decided to make a movie.    Susan, a movie?  You decided to make a movie?  Yes, indeed. Why, you might ask?  Well, for a lot of reasons.  First, I like to stay current with technology and I live in world now where every time I turn around someone is taking a video of something and posting it somewhere for the world to see.  Second, of all the technologies that are "current", video was the…
Read More

Good morning, Galilee…

Greetings, one and all, from the shores of the Sea of Galilee.  After a very long day of travel (well, more than a day), I am here safe and sound, and, after a great dinner and a decent night’s sleep, I am ready for our first day of exploration.  It is hard to call it sightseeing and I don’t feel quite holy enough or at the moment theological enough to refer to it as a pilgrimage. But what I can tell you is that I am here…and true to form, I feel nothing that I expected to feel.  As usual, it took some sleep and a little exercise to bring…
Read More

It all happens at the gate…

Having spent these last weeks deeply immersed in learning to translate Biblical Hebrew by translating the entire book of Ruth, the word sha'ar or gate has become a regular part of my Hebrew vocabulary and my thinking about community life. You see, in the ancient world, the gate of the town was the most important place (that is, in Near Eastern culture -- once the Romans came along that would switch to the marketplace or forum).  Everything happened at the gate -- that was where important contractual business happened, where news was shared (or gossip, depending on your point of view), that was where you went if you needed help,…
Read More

Testifying to the light

Today is the second Sunday of Advent when we light the candle of peace in my faith community, and I am sitting at my desk, looking out the window, watching the few snow flakes that came disappear and change to freezing rain. What we meditate upon each week in Advent is not set by some great rule book; different communities follow different patterns and in my church family it happens to be Hope, Peace, Joy, Love.  Other churches follow other rituals:  for the Methodists, the Sundays represent expectation, hope, joy, and purity; sometimes it is promise, light, love and hope...you see the point; the meaning of this Sunday can be different,…
Read More

Watch for the dawn…

Everywhere in the world I have traveled, on at least one day, I make it a point to rise in the dark, grab my camera, and go to some advantageous point to sit and wait for the sunrise.  Some people like sunsets; I crave the moment when dawn breaks.  The picture I've included here is a picture of the sun rising over the Sea of Galilee, but I could just as easily have shown you dawn over Mexico, Spain, Bulgaria, Arizona and many other places...you can imagine that my photo file is somewhat difficult to manage. You see, in that moment when darkness becomes light, I see all the possibilities…
Read More

The right word…

Do you ever sit and struggle to find just that right word to say what is in your heart?  I know I do.  I am not a person who reworks what I write a lot...and you can probably tell that when you find a misspelling here or there or a wrongly used clause or some of the other mistakes I make while dashing on one of these pieces about "what I think" about such and such. But years of therapy and spiritual direction and reading and writing have taught me that words do indeed have power and must be chosen carefully. So what about those times when we know the word…
Read More

Knowing it in your bones…

If you described my religious identity as a child as, well, confused, you would be generous.  Raised and confirmed Presbyterian, reading the Daily Word from Unity School of Religious Science every morning with my vitamins as I left to school, attending Sunday school at the United Church of Christ, going to Youth Group with my friends at the United Methodist church.  And in the quiet hours of Advent, alone in my room, building what I thought looked like a reasonable approximation of a Catholic altar -- putting a nativity on one side of the dresser and a lit Christmas tree on the other (before you liturgical purists get all up…
Read More

Just what do we mean by…faith

Lately, I have had a lot of time and motivation to think about the meaning of the word "faith"...in addition to my studies last year about faith development and the paper I'm trying to gear up to write,  I had a chance to facilitate our summer Sunday school class, leading them through a discussion of that chapter in Marcus Borg's Speaking Christian, not to mention other more personal reasons to continue my reflections.  It seems to be the word of the moment . So, in preparation for my upcoming paper on the topic of faith development and adult learning styles, I pulled out some of the things I wrote last…
Read More

What I’ve Learned So Far, Part 4: Matthew 7:3-5

I'm wrapping up a very compact two week summer term at seminary and as I pause to take stock of my learning and formation to date, and, in particular, what I've gathered and incorporated these past two weeks, I cannot help but hear over and over some wise words my mother stole from Matthew 7:3-5-- 3 Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your neighbor, b ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while the log is in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye,…
Read More

Living the dream…

Each day on our journey here in Israel has been, for me, a day of dream fulfillment.  But none so much as the last two days, and in particular today.   I can still see the room where the orientation meeting for my first try at going to Israel was held at the University of Missouri - Kansas City when I was 20 years old -- I can see Dr. Schulz and Dr. Klausner talking about what the trip would be like.  And I can remember the feeling of disappointment when the trip was cancelled for some reason that I do not recall.  And I can remember just this last fall my feeling…
Read More

What I’ve Learned So Far…Part 3 — The Movie

I had the opportunity to pursue some independent study this semester along with my more conventional classes.  And as my chosen project to explore the use of new technologies in faith development and congregational life, I decided to make a movie.    Susan, a movie?  You decided to make a movie?  Yes, indeed. Why, you might ask?  Well, for a lot of reasons.  First, I like to stay current with technology and I live in world now where every time I turn around someone is taking a video of something and posting it somewhere for the world to see.  Second, of all the technologies that are "current", video was the…
Read More

Good morning, Galilee…

Greetings, one and all, from the shores of the Sea of Galilee.  After a very long day of travel (well, more than a day), I am here safe and sound, and, after a great dinner and a decent night’s sleep, I am ready for our first day of exploration.  It is hard to call it sightseeing and I don’t feel quite holy enough or at the moment theological enough to refer to it as a pilgrimage. But what I can tell you is that I am here…and true to form, I feel nothing that I expected to feel.  As usual, it took some sleep and a little exercise to bring…
Read More

It all happens at the gate…

Having spent these last weeks deeply immersed in learning to translate Biblical Hebrew by translating the entire book of Ruth, the word sha'ar or gate has become a regular part of my Hebrew vocabulary and my thinking about community life. You see, in the ancient world, the gate of the town was the most important place (that is, in Near Eastern culture -- once the Romans came along that would switch to the marketplace or forum).  Everything happened at the gate -- that was where important contractual business happened, where news was shared (or gossip, depending on your point of view), that was where you went if you needed help,…
Read More

Testifying to the light

Today is the second Sunday of Advent when we light the candle of peace in my faith community, and I am sitting at my desk, looking out the window, watching the few snow flakes that came disappear and change to freezing rain. What we meditate upon each week in Advent is not set by some great rule book; different communities follow different patterns and in my church family it happens to be Hope, Peace, Joy, Love.  Other churches follow other rituals:  for the Methodists, the Sundays represent expectation, hope, joy, and purity; sometimes it is promise, light, love and hope...you see the point; the meaning of this Sunday can be different,…
Read More

Watch for the dawn…

Everywhere in the world I have traveled, on at least one day, I make it a point to rise in the dark, grab my camera, and go to some advantageous point to sit and wait for the sunrise.  Some people like sunsets; I crave the moment when dawn breaks.  The picture I've included here is a picture of the sun rising over the Sea of Galilee, but I could just as easily have shown you dawn over Mexico, Spain, Bulgaria, Arizona and many other places...you can imagine that my photo file is somewhat difficult to manage. You see, in that moment when darkness becomes light, I see all the possibilities…
Read More

The right word…

Do you ever sit and struggle to find just that right word to say what is in your heart?  I know I do.  I am not a person who reworks what I write a lot...and you can probably tell that when you find a misspelling here or there or a wrongly used clause or some of the other mistakes I make while dashing on one of these pieces about "what I think" about such and such. But years of therapy and spiritual direction and reading and writing have taught me that words do indeed have power and must be chosen carefully. So what about those times when we know the word…
Read More

Knowing it in your bones…

If you described my religious identity as a child as, well, confused, you would be generous.  Raised and confirmed Presbyterian, reading the Daily Word from Unity School of Religious Science every morning with my vitamins as I left to school, attending Sunday school at the United Church of Christ, going to Youth Group with my friends at the United Methodist church.  And in the quiet hours of Advent, alone in my room, building what I thought looked like a reasonable approximation of a Catholic altar -- putting a nativity on one side of the dresser and a lit Christmas tree on the other (before you liturgical purists get all up…
Read More

Just what do we mean by…faith

Lately, I have had a lot of time and motivation to think about the meaning of the word "faith"...in addition to my studies last year about faith development and the paper I'm trying to gear up to write,  I had a chance to facilitate our summer Sunday school class, leading them through a discussion of that chapter in Marcus Borg's Speaking Christian, not to mention other more personal reasons to continue my reflections.  It seems to be the word of the moment . So, in preparation for my upcoming paper on the topic of faith development and adult learning styles, I pulled out some of the things I wrote last…
Read More

What I’ve Learned So Far, Part 4: Matthew 7:3-5

I'm wrapping up a very compact two week summer term at seminary and as I pause to take stock of my learning and formation to date, and, in particular, what I've gathered and incorporated these past two weeks, I cannot help but hear over and over some wise words my mother stole from Matthew 7:3-5-- 3 Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your neighbor, b ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while the log is in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye,…
Read More

Living the dream…

Each day on our journey here in Israel has been, for me, a day of dream fulfillment.  But none so much as the last two days, and in particular today.   I can still see the room where the orientation meeting for my first try at going to Israel was held at the University of Missouri - Kansas City when I was 20 years old -- I can see Dr. Schulz and Dr. Klausner talking about what the trip would be like.  And I can remember the feeling of disappointment when the trip was cancelled for some reason that I do not recall.  And I can remember just this last fall my feeling…
Read More

What I’ve Learned So Far…Part 3 — The Movie

I had the opportunity to pursue some independent study this semester along with my more conventional classes.  And as my chosen project to explore the use of new technologies in faith development and congregational life, I decided to make a movie.    Susan, a movie?  You decided to make a movie?  Yes, indeed. Why, you might ask?  Well, for a lot of reasons.  First, I like to stay current with technology and I live in world now where every time I turn around someone is taking a video of something and posting it somewhere for the world to see.  Second, of all the technologies that are "current", video was the…
Read More

Good morning, Galilee…

Greetings, one and all, from the shores of the Sea of Galilee.  After a very long day of travel (well, more than a day), I am here safe and sound, and, after a great dinner and a decent night’s sleep, I am ready for our first day of exploration.  It is hard to call it sightseeing and I don’t feel quite holy enough or at the moment theological enough to refer to it as a pilgrimage. But what I can tell you is that I am here…and true to form, I feel nothing that I expected to feel.  As usual, it took some sleep and a little exercise to bring…
Read More

It all happens at the gate…

Having spent these last weeks deeply immersed in learning to translate Biblical Hebrew by translating the entire book of Ruth, the word sha'ar or gate has become a regular part of my Hebrew vocabulary and my thinking about community life. You see, in the ancient world, the gate of the town was the most important place (that is, in Near Eastern culture -- once the Romans came along that would switch to the marketplace or forum).  Everything happened at the gate -- that was where important contractual business happened, where news was shared (or gossip, depending on your point of view), that was where you went if you needed help,…
Read More

Testifying to the light

Today is the second Sunday of Advent when we light the candle of peace in my faith community, and I am sitting at my desk, looking out the window, watching the few snow flakes that came disappear and change to freezing rain. What we meditate upon each week in Advent is not set by some great rule book; different communities follow different patterns and in my church family it happens to be Hope, Peace, Joy, Love.  Other churches follow other rituals:  for the Methodists, the Sundays represent expectation, hope, joy, and purity; sometimes it is promise, light, love and hope...you see the point; the meaning of this Sunday can be different,…
Read More

Watch for the dawn…

Everywhere in the world I have traveled, on at least one day, I make it a point to rise in the dark, grab my camera, and go to some advantageous point to sit and wait for the sunrise.  Some people like sunsets; I crave the moment when dawn breaks.  The picture I've included here is a picture of the sun rising over the Sea of Galilee, but I could just as easily have shown you dawn over Mexico, Spain, Bulgaria, Arizona and many other places...you can imagine that my photo file is somewhat difficult to manage. You see, in that moment when darkness becomes light, I see all the possibilities…
Read More

The right word…

Do you ever sit and struggle to find just that right word to say what is in your heart?  I know I do.  I am not a person who reworks what I write a lot...and you can probably tell that when you find a misspelling here or there or a wrongly used clause or some of the other mistakes I make while dashing on one of these pieces about "what I think" about such and such. But years of therapy and spiritual direction and reading and writing have taught me that words do indeed have power and must be chosen carefully. So what about those times when we know the word…
Read More

Knowing it in your bones…

If you described my religious identity as a child as, well, confused, you would be generous.  Raised and confirmed Presbyterian, reading the Daily Word from Unity School of Religious Science every morning with my vitamins as I left to school, attending Sunday school at the United Church of Christ, going to Youth Group with my friends at the United Methodist church.  And in the quiet hours of Advent, alone in my room, building what I thought looked like a reasonable approximation of a Catholic altar -- putting a nativity on one side of the dresser and a lit Christmas tree on the other (before you liturgical purists get all up…
Read More

Just what do we mean by…faith

Lately, I have had a lot of time and motivation to think about the meaning of the word "faith"...in addition to my studies last year about faith development and the paper I'm trying to gear up to write,  I had a chance to facilitate our summer Sunday school class, leading them through a discussion of that chapter in Marcus Borg's Speaking Christian, not to mention other more personal reasons to continue my reflections.  It seems to be the word of the moment . So, in preparation for my upcoming paper on the topic of faith development and adult learning styles, I pulled out some of the things I wrote last…
Read More

What I’ve Learned So Far, Part 4: Matthew 7:3-5

I'm wrapping up a very compact two week summer term at seminary and as I pause to take stock of my learning and formation to date, and, in particular, what I've gathered and incorporated these past two weeks, I cannot help but hear over and over some wise words my mother stole from Matthew 7:3-5-- 3 Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your neighbor, b ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while the log is in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye,…
Read More

Living the dream…

Each day on our journey here in Israel has been, for me, a day of dream fulfillment.  But none so much as the last two days, and in particular today.   I can still see the room where the orientation meeting for my first try at going to Israel was held at the University of Missouri - Kansas City when I was 20 years old -- I can see Dr. Schulz and Dr. Klausner talking about what the trip would be like.  And I can remember the feeling of disappointment when the trip was cancelled for some reason that I do not recall.  And I can remember just this last fall my feeling…
Read More

What I’ve Learned So Far…Part 3 — The Movie

I had the opportunity to pursue some independent study this semester along with my more conventional classes.  And as my chosen project to explore the use of new technologies in faith development and congregational life, I decided to make a movie.    Susan, a movie?  You decided to make a movie?  Yes, indeed. Why, you might ask?  Well, for a lot of reasons.  First, I like to stay current with technology and I live in world now where every time I turn around someone is taking a video of something and posting it somewhere for the world to see.  Second, of all the technologies that are "current", video was the…
Read More

Good morning, Galilee…

Greetings, one and all, from the shores of the Sea of Galilee.  After a very long day of travel (well, more than a day), I am here safe and sound, and, after a great dinner and a decent night’s sleep, I am ready for our first day of exploration.  It is hard to call it sightseeing and I don’t feel quite holy enough or at the moment theological enough to refer to it as a pilgrimage. But what I can tell you is that I am here…and true to form, I feel nothing that I expected to feel.  As usual, it took some sleep and a little exercise to bring…
Read More

It all happens at the gate…

Having spent these last weeks deeply immersed in learning to translate Biblical Hebrew by translating the entire book of Ruth, the word sha'ar or gate has become a regular part of my Hebrew vocabulary and my thinking about community life. You see, in the ancient world, the gate of the town was the most important place (that is, in Near Eastern culture -- once the Romans came along that would switch to the marketplace or forum).  Everything happened at the gate -- that was where important contractual business happened, where news was shared (or gossip, depending on your point of view), that was where you went if you needed help,…
Read More

Testifying to the light

Today is the second Sunday of Advent when we light the candle of peace in my faith community, and I am sitting at my desk, looking out the window, watching the few snow flakes that came disappear and change to freezing rain. What we meditate upon each week in Advent is not set by some great rule book; different communities follow different patterns and in my church family it happens to be Hope, Peace, Joy, Love.  Other churches follow other rituals:  for the Methodists, the Sundays represent expectation, hope, joy, and purity; sometimes it is promise, light, love and hope...you see the point; the meaning of this Sunday can be different,…
Read More

Watch for the dawn…

Everywhere in the world I have traveled, on at least one day, I make it a point to rise in the dark, grab my camera, and go to some advantageous point to sit and wait for the sunrise.  Some people like sunsets; I crave the moment when dawn breaks.  The picture I've included here is a picture of the sun rising over the Sea of Galilee, but I could just as easily have shown you dawn over Mexico, Spain, Bulgaria, Arizona and many other places...you can imagine that my photo file is somewhat difficult to manage. You see, in that moment when darkness becomes light, I see all the possibilities…
Read More

The right word…

Do you ever sit and struggle to find just that right word to say what is in your heart?  I know I do.  I am not a person who reworks what I write a lot...and you can probably tell that when you find a misspelling here or there or a wrongly used clause or some of the other mistakes I make while dashing on one of these pieces about "what I think" about such and such. But years of therapy and spiritual direction and reading and writing have taught me that words do indeed have power and must be chosen carefully. So what about those times when we know the word…
Read More

Knowing it in your bones…

If you described my religious identity as a child as, well, confused, you would be generous.  Raised and confirmed Presbyterian, reading the Daily Word from Unity School of Religious Science every morning with my vitamins as I left to school, attending Sunday school at the United Church of Christ, going to Youth Group with my friends at the United Methodist church.  And in the quiet hours of Advent, alone in my room, building what I thought looked like a reasonable approximation of a Catholic altar -- putting a nativity on one side of the dresser and a lit Christmas tree on the other (before you liturgical purists get all up…
Read More

Just what do we mean by…faith

Lately, I have had a lot of time and motivation to think about the meaning of the word "faith"...in addition to my studies last year about faith development and the paper I'm trying to gear up to write,  I had a chance to facilitate our summer Sunday school class, leading them through a discussion of that chapter in Marcus Borg's Speaking Christian, not to mention other more personal reasons to continue my reflections.  It seems to be the word of the moment . So, in preparation for my upcoming paper on the topic of faith development and adult learning styles, I pulled out some of the things I wrote last…
Read More

What I’ve Learned So Far, Part 4: Matthew 7:3-5

I'm wrapping up a very compact two week summer term at seminary and as I pause to take stock of my learning and formation to date, and, in particular, what I've gathered and incorporated these past two weeks, I cannot help but hear over and over some wise words my mother stole from Matthew 7:3-5-- 3 Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your neighbor, b ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while the log is in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye,…
Read More

Living the dream…

Each day on our journey here in Israel has been, for me, a day of dream fulfillment.  But none so much as the last two days, and in particular today.   I can still see the room where the orientation meeting for my first try at going to Israel was held at the University of Missouri - Kansas City when I was 20 years old -- I can see Dr. Schulz and Dr. Klausner talking about what the trip would be like.  And I can remember the feeling of disappointment when the trip was cancelled for some reason that I do not recall.  And I can remember just this last fall my feeling…
Read More

What I’ve Learned So Far…Part 3 — The Movie

I had the opportunity to pursue some independent study this semester along with my more conventional classes.  And as my chosen project to explore the use of new technologies in faith development and congregational life, I decided to make a movie.    Susan, a movie?  You decided to make a movie?  Yes, indeed. Why, you might ask?  Well, for a lot of reasons.  First, I like to stay current with technology and I live in world now where every time I turn around someone is taking a video of something and posting it somewhere for the world to see.  Second, of all the technologies that are "current", video was the…
Read More

Good morning, Galilee…

Greetings, one and all, from the shores of the Sea of Galilee.  After a very long day of travel (well, more than a day), I am here safe and sound, and, after a great dinner and a decent night’s sleep, I am ready for our first day of exploration.  It is hard to call it sightseeing and I don’t feel quite holy enough or at the moment theological enough to refer to it as a pilgrimage. But what I can tell you is that I am here…and true to form, I feel nothing that I expected to feel.  As usual, it took some sleep and a little exercise to bring…
Read More

It all happens at the gate…

Having spent these last weeks deeply immersed in learning to translate Biblical Hebrew by translating the entire book of Ruth, the word sha'ar or gate has become a regular part of my Hebrew vocabulary and my thinking about community life. You see, in the ancient world, the gate of the town was the most important place (that is, in Near Eastern culture -- once the Romans came along that would switch to the marketplace or forum).  Everything happened at the gate -- that was where important contractual business happened, where news was shared (or gossip, depending on your point of view), that was where you went if you needed help,…
Read More

Testifying to the light

Today is the second Sunday of Advent when we light the candle of peace in my faith community, and I am sitting at my desk, looking out the window, watching the few snow flakes that came disappear and change to freezing rain. What we meditate upon each week in Advent is not set by some great rule book; different communities follow different patterns and in my church family it happens to be Hope, Peace, Joy, Love.  Other churches follow other rituals:  for the Methodists, the Sundays represent expectation, hope, joy, and purity; sometimes it is promise, light, love and hope...you see the point; the meaning of this Sunday can be different,…
Read More

Watch for the dawn…

Everywhere in the world I have traveled, on at least one day, I make it a point to rise in the dark, grab my camera, and go to some advantageous point to sit and wait for the sunrise.  Some people like sunsets; I crave the moment when dawn breaks.  The picture I've included here is a picture of the sun rising over the Sea of Galilee, but I could just as easily have shown you dawn over Mexico, Spain, Bulgaria, Arizona and many other places...you can imagine that my photo file is somewhat difficult to manage. You see, in that moment when darkness becomes light, I see all the possibilities…
Read More

The right word…

Do you ever sit and struggle to find just that right word to say what is in your heart?  I know I do.  I am not a person who reworks what I write a lot...and you can probably tell that when you find a misspelling here or there or a wrongly used clause or some of the other mistakes I make while dashing on one of these pieces about "what I think" about such and such. But years of therapy and spiritual direction and reading and writing have taught me that words do indeed have power and must be chosen carefully. So what about those times when we know the word…
Read More

Knowing it in your bones…

If you described my religious identity as a child as, well, confused, you would be generous.  Raised and confirmed Presbyterian, reading the Daily Word from Unity School of Religious Science every morning with my vitamins as I left to school, attending Sunday school at the United Church of Christ, going to Youth Group with my friends at the United Methodist church.  And in the quiet hours of Advent, alone in my room, building what I thought looked like a reasonable approximation of a Catholic altar -- putting a nativity on one side of the dresser and a lit Christmas tree on the other (before you liturgical purists get all up…
Read More

Just what do we mean by…faith

Lately, I have had a lot of time and motivation to think about the meaning of the word "faith"...in addition to my studies last year about faith development and the paper I'm trying to gear up to write,  I had a chance to facilitate our summer Sunday school class, leading them through a discussion of that chapter in Marcus Borg's Speaking Christian, not to mention other more personal reasons to continue my reflections.  It seems to be the word of the moment . So, in preparation for my upcoming paper on the topic of faith development and adult learning styles, I pulled out some of the things I wrote last…
Read More

What I’ve Learned So Far, Part 4: Matthew 7:3-5

I'm wrapping up a very compact two week summer term at seminary and as I pause to take stock of my learning and formation to date, and, in particular, what I've gathered and incorporated these past two weeks, I cannot help but hear over and over some wise words my mother stole from Matthew 7:3-5-- 3 Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your neighbor, b ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while the log is in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye,…
Read More

Living the dream…

Each day on our journey here in Israel has been, for me, a day of dream fulfillment.  But none so much as the last two days, and in particular today.   I can still see the room where the orientation meeting for my first try at going to Israel was held at the University of Missouri - Kansas City when I was 20 years old -- I can see Dr. Schulz and Dr. Klausner talking about what the trip would be like.  And I can remember the feeling of disappointment when the trip was cancelled for some reason that I do not recall.  And I can remember just this last fall my feeling…
Read More

What I’ve Learned So Far…Part 3 — The Movie

I had the opportunity to pursue some independent study this semester along with my more conventional classes.  And as my chosen project to explore the use of new technologies in faith development and congregational life, I decided to make a movie.    Susan, a movie?  You decided to make a movie?  Yes, indeed. Why, you might ask?  Well, for a lot of reasons.  First, I like to stay current with technology and I live in world now where every time I turn around someone is taking a video of something and posting it somewhere for the world to see.  Second, of all the technologies that are "current", video was the…
Read More

Good morning, Galilee…

Greetings, one and all, from the shores of the Sea of Galilee.  After a very long day of travel (well, more than a day), I am here safe and sound, and, after a great dinner and a decent night’s sleep, I am ready for our first day of exploration.  It is hard to call it sightseeing and I don’t feel quite holy enough or at the moment theological enough to refer to it as a pilgrimage. But what I can tell you is that I am here…and true to form, I feel nothing that I expected to feel.  As usual, it took some sleep and a little exercise to bring…
Read More

It all happens at the gate…

Having spent these last weeks deeply immersed in learning to translate Biblical Hebrew by translating the entire book of Ruth, the word sha'ar or gate has become a regular part of my Hebrew vocabulary and my thinking about community life. You see, in the ancient world, the gate of the town was the most important place (that is, in Near Eastern culture -- once the Romans came along that would switch to the marketplace or forum).  Everything happened at the gate -- that was where important contractual business happened, where news was shared (or gossip, depending on your point of view), that was where you went if you needed help,…
Read More

Testifying to the light

Today is the second Sunday of Advent when we light the candle of peace in my faith community, and I am sitting at my desk, looking out the window, watching the few snow flakes that came disappear and change to freezing rain. What we meditate upon each week in Advent is not set by some great rule book; different communities follow different patterns and in my church family it happens to be Hope, Peace, Joy, Love.  Other churches follow other rituals:  for the Methodists, the Sundays represent expectation, hope, joy, and purity; sometimes it is promise, light, love and hope...you see the point; the meaning of this Sunday can be different,…
Read More

Watch for the dawn…

Everywhere in the world I have traveled, on at least one day, I make it a point to rise in the dark, grab my camera, and go to some advantageous point to sit and wait for the sunrise.  Some people like sunsets; I crave the moment when dawn breaks.  The picture I've included here is a picture of the sun rising over the Sea of Galilee, but I could just as easily have shown you dawn over Mexico, Spain, Bulgaria, Arizona and many other places...you can imagine that my photo file is somewhat difficult to manage. You see, in that moment when darkness becomes light, I see all the possibilities…
Read More

The right word…

Do you ever sit and struggle to find just that right word to say what is in your heart?  I know I do.  I am not a person who reworks what I write a lot...and you can probably tell that when you find a misspelling here or there or a wrongly used clause or some of the other mistakes I make while dashing on one of these pieces about "what I think" about such and such. But years of therapy and spiritual direction and reading and writing have taught me that words do indeed have power and must be chosen carefully. So what about those times when we know the word…
Read More

Knowing it in your bones…

If you described my religious identity as a child as, well, confused, you would be generous.  Raised and confirmed Presbyterian, reading the Daily Word from Unity School of Religious Science every morning with my vitamins as I left to school, attending Sunday school at the United Church of Christ, going to Youth Group with my friends at the United Methodist church.  And in the quiet hours of Advent, alone in my room, building what I thought looked like a reasonable approximation of a Catholic altar -- putting a nativity on one side of the dresser and a lit Christmas tree on the other (before you liturgical purists get all up…
Read More

Just what do we mean by…faith

Lately, I have had a lot of time and motivation to think about the meaning of the word "faith"...in addition to my studies last year about faith development and the paper I'm trying to gear up to write,  I had a chance to facilitate our summer Sunday school class, leading them through a discussion of that chapter in Marcus Borg's Speaking Christian, not to mention other more personal reasons to continue my reflections.  It seems to be the word of the moment . So, in preparation for my upcoming paper on the topic of faith development and adult learning styles, I pulled out some of the things I wrote last…
Read More

What I’ve Learned So Far, Part 4: Matthew 7:3-5

I'm wrapping up a very compact two week summer term at seminary and as I pause to take stock of my learning and formation to date, and, in particular, what I've gathered and incorporated these past two weeks, I cannot help but hear over and over some wise words my mother stole from Matthew 7:3-5-- 3 Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your neighbor, b ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while the log is in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye,…
Read More

Living the dream…

Each day on our journey here in Israel has been, for me, a day of dream fulfillment.  But none so much as the last two days, and in particular today.   I can still see the room where the orientation meeting for my first try at going to Israel was held at the University of Missouri - Kansas City when I was 20 years old -- I can see Dr. Schulz and Dr. Klausner talking about what the trip would be like.  And I can remember the feeling of disappointment when the trip was cancelled for some reason that I do not recall.  And I can remember just this last fall my feeling…
Read More

What I’ve Learned So Far…Part 3 — The Movie

I had the opportunity to pursue some independent study this semester along with my more conventional classes.  And as my chosen project to explore the use of new technologies in faith development and congregational life, I decided to make a movie.    Susan, a movie?  You decided to make a movie?  Yes, indeed. Why, you might ask?  Well, for a lot of reasons.  First, I like to stay current with technology and I live in world now where every time I turn around someone is taking a video of something and posting it somewhere for the world to see.  Second, of all the technologies that are "current", video was the…
Read More

Good morning, Galilee…

Greetings, one and all, from the shores of the Sea of Galilee.  After a very long day of travel (well, more than a day), I am here safe and sound, and, after a great dinner and a decent night’s sleep, I am ready for our first day of exploration.  It is hard to call it sightseeing and I don’t feel quite holy enough or at the moment theological enough to refer to it as a pilgrimage. But what I can tell you is that I am here…and true to form, I feel nothing that I expected to feel.  As usual, it took some sleep and a little exercise to bring…
Read More

It all happens at the gate…

Having spent these last weeks deeply immersed in learning to translate Biblical Hebrew by translating the entire book of Ruth, the word sha'ar or gate has become a regular part of my Hebrew vocabulary and my thinking about community life. You see, in the ancient world, the gate of the town was the most important place (that is, in Near Eastern culture -- once the Romans came along that would switch to the marketplace or forum).  Everything happened at the gate -- that was where important contractual business happened, where news was shared (or gossip, depending on your point of view), that was where you went if you needed help,…
Read More