Simpleigh

Friends, I don't want to frighten you, but there is a dangerous epidemic currently targeting the millennial generation — I know what you're thinking but it's not ironic facial hair. No, there is another name for this anomaly. Some have dubbed it "wedding fever." Over the past few months I have come to affectionately refer to it as "open bar season." Call it what you will, but for me it has meant having to attend an extra-ordinary amount of weddings this year. In just under eight months I have attended five weddings —  all in different states and one on a different continent. Just a year ago I hadn't been to more than two weddings in my entire life. Now I'm supporting half the wedding industry. What's the deal people? Did Tiffany & Co. contaminate our drinking water?  I don't mean to be snarky, but watching all these couples take "the big step" has been more than a little overwhelming; because the thing about weddings ...

  In the Lenten spirit of self-reflection and repentance I confess to you that I hate blogging. No, I really hate blogging. I hate it for a number of reasons. First, I don’t think I am very good at it. I’m not an especially skillful or articulate writer. I tend to ramble on and only sometimes get to the point. Second, I don’t have the same desire to be heard that most bloggers seem to posses. Lastly, I am a journaler, which means that most of what I write is deeply personal and excessively flowery. Writing for a public audience puts me in the awkward position of walking the thin line between the private and personal, which frankly are subjective categories anyway. I see the irony of confessing all of this to you in a blog post. However, I've done so because I’ve decided to take up blogging during the season of Lent. As many of you know, Lent is a liturgical season in the Christian year where believers prepare themselves for Holy Week, the week that recalls Jesus’ dea...

Today is my Dad's 69th birthday.  What follows is the eulogy I wrote for his memorial service, delivered to my home church by Pastor Fawn Mikel.  Pastor Fawn, You asked me what is one thing I want people to remember about my dad. I told you it was his self-sacrifice, and it’s true, but this splinters off in so many ways. One is how charming he was with everyone. When I visited him in the hospital/rehab center the staff loved him. You have to understand, most of their patients are ill tempered because of pain, losing their minds, or unable to communicate at all. But he had such a report with the nurses.  One of the nurses called him Tom Tom. She said she would come in the door, say hello, and he would say, "is that my Jackie?!" When I was there they acted so clinical with everyone else, but they would come in and start catching him up on all their personal lives. Everywhere he went he made friends and made people feel at home in their own ski...

This is how i feel today.  Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone, Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone, Silence the pianos and with muffled drum Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come. Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead Scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead, Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves, Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves. He was my North, my South, my East and West, My working week and my Sunday rest, My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song; I thought that love would last for ever: I was wrong. The stars are not wanted now: put out every one; Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun; Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood. For nothing now can ever come to any good. W. H. Auden

Two days ago one of my best friends gave birth for the first time to a beautiful little girl named Ellie.  In Italian “to give birth”— “Dare alla Luce”— is literally translated:  “to  give to the light” If we think about birth this way, it makes sense why Jesus named what we typically call conversion, "the new birth."  Peter Rollins says conversion is like birth because you don't experience your birth, rather, being born allows you to experience everything else.  Conversion, then, is a transformative journey; one where God is continually bringing us into the light. Each moment carries the opportunity to be transformed by the light of life, a new birth day.  Will we allow ourselves to be given to it?  Welcome to the light Ellie. 

On Wednesday, my Emergent Gathering professor led us in an exercise called "Midrash."  Midrash  is the Hebrew term  for a unique style of storytelling used by Jewish Rabbinic Sages to explain passages from the bible.  Midrash is a creative way to fill in plot gaps, add detail to whats been left vague, and explore biblical personalities.  Midrash is not exegesis, which seeks to extract meaning. Instead, midrash is a form of eisegesis, wherein meaning is given.  The beauty of doing a group midrash is you get to hear a variety of voices all give their take on a single passage.  In my very first month at Wesley I was accused of being a midrash-fangirl. While this statement is somewhat of a hyperbole, I do enjoy a good midrash. So,   I thought I would post mine in the hope that something I've said will resonate with you, or perhaps cause a rupture that leads you to deeper truth.  Given 15 minutes, we were asked to listen and t...

As part of my Spiritual Formation class, I'm required to visit a local non-profit with a small group of peers. This past week I visited the Father McKenna Center (a Jesuit run day shelter for homeless men) for a final time before the end of the semester. I chose the Father McKenna Center for a number of reasons, not least of which is the feeling of genuine concern for these men I get from the staff and volunteers. Perhaps one of the more unique features of the center, is their midday "check in" group. During this time, the men (numbering in the 40s and 50s) share their feelings, anxieties, joys, and dreams with the group. A moderator oversees the meeting, answering technical questions about affordable housing or job training, and sometimes delivers a motivational message. In general, I tend to be suspect of self-help style pep talks. In my opinion, they have a propensity to communicate the destructive myth that your value comes from what you produce. However, I rather l...