


Sheep Out, Sheep In
In this remote-gathering time it has become a tradition for our congregation to begin our Sunday morning worship service with “The Release of the Sheep.” My Whidbey Island flock spends the night in the barn to keep them safe from the coyotes that roam outside. But in... Read more...
Unmute
“Can you unmute?” A regular phrase these days. Or “Please mute yourself.”Even “I’m going to mute everybody.”The words still seem strange every time I say them, Zooming them across the ether, over the background noise of rustling of papers, conversations coming from... Read more...
Time
There is an old joke that I heard in seminary more than forty years ago. Paul Tillich and Karl Barth are at a baseball game. The game is tied and goes into extra innings. As play goes on and on, Tillich turns to Barth and says, “I don’t get it. When is this game going... Read more...
Where God Has Put a Comet
Sometimes it is good to look up. In addition to everything I have been paying attention to on this planet, I have also spent the last few weeks scanning the heavens. Each clear night I have been trekking outside to gaze into the darkening northwestern sky along with... Read more...
Cloistered
As of today I have spent four months here on the farm, mostly isolated from the world, and doing almost all of my ministry by means of phone, Facebook and Zoom. In that time winter has turned to spring and spring has turned to summer. Daffodils bloomed and faded,... Read more...
Five Years, Eight Years, A Lifetime
Today is the fifth anniversary of the Supreme Court decision known as Obergefell v. Hodges, the historic ruling that affirmed marriage equality throughout the United States. This weekend is also “Pride Weekend” in Seattle, culminating a month of Pride activities... Read more...