In my book on Hospitality-the sacred art, I have a chapter devoted to hospitality to our enemies. These are two words we don’t put together in our heads (or our practice) very often. Hospitality. Enemies. The idea is very akin to the Jesus concepts of “Love your enemies,” “pray for those who persecute you.” When …
Psalms for Praying
This is one of my favorite books for prayer and liturgy. We use this book almost every week at Wicker Park Grace for our liturgical psalm. We sing a refrain, taizé -style, sometimes an actual song from Taizé , and sometimes an original refrain composed to go with a particular psalm. In between the communally …
Restorative Justice
This is the sermon I preached on Sunday morning, Sept 11, 2011, at Lincoln Park Presbyterian Church. I gave a shorter version at Wicker Park Grace that evening. Click the audio icon at the end of this post to listen in. You can also right click here and “save link as” to download the mp3 …
Communion Means Loving Across Barriers
I wrote about communion in the Wicker Park Grace e-newsletter this week. It’s so important that I want to repeat it here. As a pastor, I have struggled with how to interpret communion and how to practice it in a community deeply committed to radical inclusion. In many times and places, communion has been interpreted …
Catching the Light
When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them? Psalm 8:3-4 While I was on retreat in Maine this June, I did some experimenting with my camera. I …