Look upon your children with children in their arms, that they may face the winds, and walk the good road to the day of quiet.

Dark is the cloud that rests over the nation. Wild is the war cry that pierces the air… Lord, may the bonds of the captive be broken. May this struggle bring sweet liberty. Teach us that love is a heaven-born token and that the truth can alone make us free… — excerpt from a Prayer for the Captive by Sister Cecelia DeVere

What will be the future legacy of St. John’s Episcopal Church, Portsmouth? How do we being to write that story now? What will be our part in doing the important work of caring for each other, of loving our neighbors no matter what, of Welcoming All In The Name of Christ, of discovering the areas where we struggle individually and collectively to reconcile our relationship with oppression and/or hatred, and atoning for those sins?

You might see an angel anytime and anywhere.

The main thing Jesus has asked me to do is love God and my neighbor as religiously as I love myself

t was magical. God's creative magic and love had surrounded and invaded all of our hearts and souls and, in some small way, I know it transformed me.

"Come and see"

May your imagination know the grace of perfect danger

I heard eventually that courage is fear that has said its prayers.

What to Remember When Waking

This pruning is how we become whole.

Finally, if you have some time on Sunday between 10 and 2pm, stop by Four Tree Island. In addition to the walk, festivities include live music, food, raffles, and the opportunity to hear Freddy's amazing journey in getting to the other side of his " Bridge" in life.

The good news of an incarnational religion, a Spirit-based morality, is that you are not motivated by any outside reward or punishment but by participating in the Mystery itself.

What if the church’s job were to move people out the door instead of trying to keep them in, by convincing them that God needed them more in the world than in the church?”

We are made for loving. If we don’t love, we will be like plants without water.

From that gap in the air
And be able to enter the hearth
In your soul where your loved one
Has awaited your return
All the time.

“Here are the two best prayers I know: 'Help me, help me, help me' and 'Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

When I was preparing for this role, I honestly didn’t expect to feel as drawn in, to feel as connected to this community, these people, their traditions, their rites, as I have become. Here on Friday, September 17, as I wrap up this first installment of my now-extended length reflection, I have participated in a total of 5 services. Last night, driving home after the final Yom Kippur service, I couldn’t get the melodies out of my head. The Kedushah, the Avinu Malkeinu, and so many more. Their singing has burrowed deep into my conscious in a really special way. Maybe it’s because I haven’t participated in a chanted liturgy since Lent, 2019…

How can you or I share the “little light of mine”, from deep inside?