michael

This recently came to my awareness when I realized that frequently in Christian liturgical language, God is named as “Maker of heaven and earth.1” Initially I’d consider that we live in one of those places, and the other is the other – hopefully where’s we’ll go when we’re done here (good sixth-grade theology). Then a […]

What’s going on when someone speaks your name? Sometimes I’ll ask a client about their name. “Where does it come from?” The question itself assumes it comes from somewhere. As if there is a story behind it. Tell me a story about your name. Or a particular meaning. Were you named after somebody (in particular)?

Backstory I have a vivid memory of the occasion when I first fell in love with what I’ve ever since called “real bread.” It was in the mid 1960s – a long time ago.  I was in the midst of 3 years seminary training in northern New Jersey, and in one of our summer breaks,

Hope At the turn of the year, I heard many comments from friends and clients, that we have just come through a most difficult year (2025). Some of those who had suffered personal difficulty or tragedy, would seem able to look to the New Year 2026 with Hope. Now hope is generally an American phenomenon,

Backstory You will note from the date at the end of this December Newsletter, that I am very late to write for this month. I have tried many topics, thinking while lying in bed at night or early morning – only to have each of them collapse after a paragraph or two. Our current times

There’s a story that comes out of Africa – that I’ve heard told a number of times – which is often the case with important teaching stories.  In the old traditions, they have a way to insist on being told.   This is a story that the elders of the tribe make sure to teach

Backstory When preparing my August Newsletter, recalling as a 27 year old foreign exchange Summer in Nuremberg (southern Germany) a long forgotten memory emerged, that I set aside for a separate sharing. That was 1958 – just 13 years after the Allied forces defeated Germany, ending World War II in Europe.  My host family, the

On the Church Sign in front of St. Jude’s Church in Fenton, our Priest-in-Charge added a few months ago, “Wish Noah had Swatted Those 2 Mosquitos…” The Lowly Demon Mosquito I’ve heard from experts (those folks who spend their life studying these things – at least before DOGE), that in a world where almost every

Backstory In the Summer of 1958, before my Senior Year in high school, I had the privilege of being chosen as a Summer exchange student under the American Field Service – itself forged from American non-combatant battlefield ambulance services in two World Wars. I was to spend the summer living with a German family in

OK, for this one I’m putting on my semi-religious/spiritual writer’s hat. First, some backstory. My father was a Methodist minister.  My mother the daughter of a minister, who became a Methodist when they emigrated from England.  So, as a child, they taught me to pray before bed.  That was many years ago, and my only