Author Archives: Rosalind C Hughes

Unknown's avatar

About Rosalind C Hughes

Rosalind C Hughes is an Episcopal priest, poet, and author living near the shores of Lake Erie. After growing up in England and Wales, and living briefly in Singapore, she is now settled in Ohio. Rosalind is the author of A Family Like Mine: Biblical Stories of Love, Loss, and Longing , and Whom Shall I Fear? Urgent Questions for Christians in an Age of Violence, both from Upper Room Books. She loves the lake, misses the ocean, and is finally coming to terms with snow.

Be patient

When our children were small and there were too many things to do with the two hands that I have, one of the children, wise and observant, noticed that often their requests were met with the same, repeated phrase. I realized this one day when they asked me, “for a drink, now please, and not in a minute.”
Be patient, beloved. Continue reading

Posted in advent meditations, lectionary reflection, sermon, story | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The imagination of eternity

There is danger, nonetheless, in rendering Christ in wood and ink, oil and water, his features flattened, pressed under the weight of our expectations and experience, Mary’s milky flesh lightened and whitened, the divine darkness artificially brightened with gilt and gold. There is the danger that instead of conforming our imaginations to Christ’s likeness, we will attempt to fix him in ours. Continue reading

Posted in advent meditations, homily, sermon | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sneaky Jesus

We cannot righteous our way to redemption. That’s where Jesus comes in. Continue reading

Posted in advent meditations, lectionary reflection, sermon | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Underwater Jesus

Today is a heavy travel day here in the US. For many, a trip home brings feelings of relief and deep joy. For others, the air is electric with anxiety and dangers. For some, there is no going home, only the wilderness wandering within sight but not touch of the Promised Land. For not a few, the opening of the holiday season begins a pilgrimage to the abyss of grief. Continue reading

Posted in prayer, story | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Race and guns: a call to the occasion “For Such a Time As This” with the Rev. Sharon Risher

I was honoured to offer this opening prayer and call at lunch with God Before Guns and the Rev. Sharon Risher at Forest Hill Presbyterian Church, Cleveland Heights, today. What do guns have to do with any of this? That … Continue reading

Posted in current events, gun violence, prayer, story | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Building up

It is tempting to read Haggai’s prophecies as an allegory for our times. We could imagine him coming into this space, our space, and asking, “Who is left among you that saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now?” Continue reading

Posted in lectionary reflection, sermon | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

For all the saints

Even your tears are formed from living water. Even your hunger is a sign of God’s blessing, a sign that you know, deep in your belly, that God has more for you, that God intends you for greater satisfaction. That is the faith of the apocalyptic visionaries: that already, God is making all things new, that death’s days are numbered. Continue reading

Posted in holy days, lectionary reflection, sermon | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

All Souls

O eternal Lord God, who holdest all souls in life … (Book of Common Prayer, 202) Continue reading

Posted in holy days, spiritual autobiography | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Fight the good fight

The good fight, Paul has learned, is the one that he doesn’t mind losing, so long as he may keep his martyr’s crown, so long as he has hold of the hem of Jesus’ robe.

After all, Jesus himself faced the same judgement of the empire, and the same ignominious, criminal execution at its hands. His enemies thought that it was a defeat. They were wrong. Continue reading

Posted in lectionary reflection, sermon | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

I’ll eat my words

Today, instead of writing I consumed words like cereal, inhaling through my ears the opinions of the radio, rolling words of fiction between my teeth to see if I could taste the lie, drowning D. H. Lawrence in the bath.

Posted in poetry | Tagged , | Leave a comment