An Update on People and Place

“Don't talk unless you can improve the silence.” Jorge Luis Borges. It has been a while since I have updated you on our building progress because there has not been much to report. The Vestry and Board of Trustees of St. Stephen’s School have authorized the Project...

Wrestling with The Bear

One of the stops in my vacation this past June was Chicago. I went with my husband to the national convention of the American Library Association. While it is true that there were many older women there wearing sensible shoes (I among them!), there were also...

The Spiritual Practice of Pride

When I was traveling recently, people asked me how we celebrate Pride here in Houston. The only answer I could come up with was… “Big!” I notice during this season that the spirit of freedom and joy extend so much farther than a single day or weekend, that it...

Juneteenth, Holy Land, and Shared Sacred Joy

Next Monday, June 19th is celebrated as Juneteenth. The holiday marks the day that news of the Emancipation Proclamation was read in Galveston, TX (two years after it was penned). Sometimes people think of it as a “black” holiday, but even the oppressors get a little...

Summertime and the Living Is…

St. Stephen’s is headed into summer mode…that means it’s time to go easy and to connect with each other. We are engaging in two new efforts: We have removed the back pews so we can gather inside for hospitality. We are also encouraging everyone to greet someone they...

The Trinity: It’s All About Community

A famous icon of the Trinity is drawn to depict three figures gathered at table with the viewer as the fourth. At the heart of the doctrine of the Trinity is the conviction that God's essence includes community, it seems to suggest. On Sunday we will mark Trinity...

I Have Decided to Follow Jesus

At its inception, the Christian Church was viewed by the Roman Empire as a sect within Judaism and was thereby protected from Roman persecution. Two historical events united to dissolve Christian protection from Rome: the Bar Kockba revolt in Jerusalem which...

Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child…a Long Way from Home

These are the opening lyrics of a nineteenth century lament of a young enslaved child being sold away from his or her mother to a white person as property. The rendition by Odetta is particularly haunting; you can listen here:...

Growth Surprises

It seems so often that when we think about growth--spiritual, emotional, physical--we assume that we need to have a 9-step "refuse to lose" mentality. We set the goal; we determine the plan; we work the plan. Control and results are completely up to...

Remember How We….

I am taking a memory enhancement course offered by Amazing Place, a non-profit ministry partner of ours whose mission is to care for folks with dementia and their families, along with a parishioner at St. Stephen's. The class is designed for people "north of...

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