I just received the May issue of WIRED in the mail, and one of the articles titled “Internet Boom” by Lily Hay Newman caught my attention. The piece offered a brief introduction to Barrett Lyon’s trippy visualization which charts the
My spiritual lineage has is a pretty straight line back to the earliest days of the Anabaptist peace movement… often referred to as the “radical reformation” within Christianity. The older I grow the more I appreciate aspects of my heritage.
The Guest House by Rumi This being human is a guest house. Every morning a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor. Welcome and entertain them all! Even if they are
Thanks be to God, an American police officer was held accountable for murdering an African American man… George Floyd. The officer was found guilty of all three charges. May this nation not turn back from the much overdue reform of
Where I’m From By George Ella Lyon I am from clothespins, from Clorox and carbon-tetrachloride. I am from the dirt under the back porch. (Black, glistening it tasted like beets.) I am from the forsythia bush, the Dutch elm whose
Start Close In by David Whyte Start close in, don’t take the second step or the third, start with the first thing close in, the step you don’t want to take. Start with the ground you know, the pale ground
At Thomas Merton’s Grave by Spencer Reece We can never be with loss too long. Behind the warped door that sticks, the wood thrush calls to the monks, pausing upon the stone crucifix, singing: “I am marvelous alone!” Thrash, thrash
A documentary looking at the life of Abraham Joshua Heschel was released at the end of last month… I can’t wait to see it. I’ve been rereading Heschel’s The Sabbath in preparation for a spring course I’ll be teaching at
“I’m not a foodie; I’m an eatie. I don’t have anything against foodies. I just don’t have the time or the interest to do that much research.” Jim Gaffigan Stand-up comedy can be – among other things – prophetic. I
Dulce et Decorum Est By Wilfred Owen Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge, Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs, And towards our distant rest began to trudge. Men
Last fall Seattle’s legendary drive-in burger joint announced their intent to open a new restaurant location on the Eastside. Granted, I may be way too excited about this announcement, but yesterday I heard the news that Dick’s Drive-In will be
I love the opening scenes of the 1995 “Smoke” by film makers Wayne Wang and Paul Auster. Among others, the movie features Harvey Keitel, William Hurt, Stockard Channing, Harold Perrineau Jr., and very young Forest Whitaker. The story begins as a local business owner is
GOD WOULD KNEEL DOWN by St. Francis of Assisi I think God might be a little prejudiced. For once He asked me to join Him on a walk through this world,and we gazed into every heart on this earth, and
Yesterday’s acts of deadly violence executed by some extremist Trump supporters who stormed the Nation’s Capitol is egregious to say the least. But the idea that some those people were trying to justify their actions by claiming that Jesus Christ
The Hill We Climb by Amanda Gorman Mr. President, Dr. Biden, Madam Vice President, Mr. Emhoff, Americans and the world. When day comes we ask ourselves where can we find light in this never-ending shade? The loss we carry asea
If Rudyard Kipling If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you; If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too;
Penny Rabbit & Summer Bear by Kishi Bashi Under the ocean, far from the sun Penny Rabbit, wondering “When will we ever become one? Must I suffer days to come?” Fresh out of wishes, fate wouldn’t dare He had to
Here is the City of Bellevue’s recently approved (December 14th, 2020) plan for learning to live in relationship with creation. I wish it had a more clearly linked connection to the UN’s 17’s “Sustainable Development Goals” especially given the relative
The New Urban Agenda Illustrated handbook (at the bottom of this post) serves as the base for the New Urban Agenda online crash course. This course is offered through the United Nations Habitat. The self-paced course in two parts is available
Abecedarian Requiring Further Examination of Anglikan Seraphym Subjugation of a Wild Indian Rezervation by Natalie Diaz Angels don’t come to the reservation. Bats, maybe, or owls, boxy mottled things. Coyotes, too. They all mean the same thing— death. And death
Unlike Canada’s Thanksgiving practice, which is more of a harvest celebration, the American observation is couched in a subjugating narrative. Wisdom is invited of you as you navigate this holiday. The particularity of your bodied, cultured, and located self will
SINGULARITY by Marie Howe (after Stephen Hawking) Do you sometimes want to wake up to the singularity we once were? so compact nobody needed a bed, or food or money — nobody hiding in the school bathroom or home alone
The ongoing collaboration between the Parliament of World Religions together with the UN-Environment Programme, has set forth a “Faith for Earth: A Call for Action.” This beautifully compiled document describes the essential, unshakeable reverence that all religions have for creation
Recently a friend invited me to take a closer listen to some of the music of Minnesota-based, Cloud Cult. I’m really glad I did. On a peripheral level I was aware of them through KEXP (the world’s greatest independent radio
Perhaps the World Ends Here By Joy Harjo The world begins at a kitchen table. No matter what, we must eat to live. The gifts of earth are brought and prepared, set on the table. So it has been since creation,
“Little Lion Man” by Mumford & Sons Weep for yourself, my man You’ll never be what is in your heart Weep, little lion man You’re not as brave as you were at the start Rate yourself and rake yourself Take
Prayer for the Untranslated Testimony by Franny Choi At midnight, I am sitting on my back steps, looking at the leaves and listening to the sound a boy is making into the night with the peak of his lungs somewhere
URBAN SHALOM SOCIETY WEBINAR SERIES: Shalom in a Time of Pandemic: Glimpses of Regeneration In just a few short months the global novel coronavirus pandemic has racked the world with tragic human loss. Hundreds of thousands of people are dead
Music is vital to surviving this shelter in place era. One bright spot for me was receiving my vinyl copy of the final recording in the 11 year trilogy by Seattle’s Human Cargo, “Begin.” If you don’t know Human Cargo,
