Most of us have family stories that are either handed down to us or are stories that we have lived through. If your family is like mine, those stories tend to get embellished as time goes on and the facts around the story tend to get blurred. Some stories tend to be more significant than others. Some are just funny events or funny things that happen. Others might be stories that convey some sort of tragedy or loss. And every once in a while you get one that is full of meaning. It might not be… Continue

Here we are on Christmas Day after the crescendo of Advent and the Christmas Eve services of last night. Over this past month we have diligently decorated our trees, hauled out the Christmas decorations from the attic and garage; arranged the greenery and crèches; lit the Advent wreaths, baked the Christmas cookies; wrapped all the presents. We have been building on the excitement and anticipation of this day for several weeks. We have put in so much effort into creating the “perfect holiday”.… Continue

The Lessons and Carols we read and sang this past Sunday at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Kingsport, told us the story of our Christian heritage. The Gospel and readings announced the coming of a Messiah. John the Baptist’s cry was to get ready! Here He comes! Get ready for God to come! However, I think we sometimes get confused about what we are really preparing for. Sometimes I think we tend to think about Advent in terms of a bumper sticker I saw one time: “Jesus is coming... look busy...”… Continue

Today is New Year’s Eve. For the most part it seems unremarkable. I got up this morning and did my usual routine…Up at 5:30 am, make coffee, Daily Office (Morning Prayer Rite II), then out for my morning walk… Other than the struggle of waking up and usually having to force myself out of bed, my morning routine is something I truly look forward to. The drive to work was a little more remarkable in that the scenery with sun breaking through the clouds… Continue

As I thought and prayed about what to say in this blog on this day of prayer, fasting and advocacy, I had originally planned to speak to the poverty we find here within the United States. Specifically, I was going to speak to the high rate of infant mortality that is truly an epidemic among poor African Americans here in my own State of Tennessee and across the rest of the nation. I was going to speak to the fact that this phenomenon is a replication of the plight of poor folks all over the… Continue