All rights reserved
© Rosalind C Hughes and over the water, 2011-2026. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Rosalind C Hughes and over the water, with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
A Family Like Mine: Biblical Stories of Love, Loss, and Longing
https://bookstore.upperroom.org/Products/1921/a-family-like-mine.aspxWhom Shall I Fear: Urgent Questions for Christians in an Age of Violence
https://www.amazon.com/Whom-Shall-Fear-Questions-Christians/dp/0835819671-
Recent Posts
Archives
Categories
RevGalBlogPals
Meta
Category Archives: poetry
How I discovered that I have no sense of smell
if my devotions appear lacking or incomplete,
charge it I pray to my imperfect property,
and not to my intent. Continue reading
Posted in holy days, lectionary reflection, meditation, poetry, prayer
Tagged Holy Week, John 12:1-11, Mary of Bethany
Leave a comment
Holy Saturday
Sealedin a tomb innocentof inscription, the stoneworn smooth by centuries of rain, the tears of heaven shedfor this, the day of dereliction, God’sChrist is dead;his body, unanointed, plumbsthe depths of human dissipation,And will he find me there,*buried in my own … Continue reading
Hear my prayer
The lake has melted. Sand and shale
strewn by the winter floes litter the beach.
I pick out the pebbles that hint at a heart
of stone. My prayers are rocks
thrown heavenward; Continue reading
“A sin of fear”
Fear of our own condemnation is what leads us so often to condemn others. Fear of missing out makes us grasping and fetters our generosity of spirit. We covet what is our neighbour’s instead of making sure that they have enough to get by. Fear of rejection leads us to scapegoat, separate, scorn those whom Christ would welcome from the cross into paradise. Fear makes thieves of our prayers. We seek to secure to ourselves the blessings that God would share with the whole of creation. Continue reading
Posted in poetry, sermon
Tagged 1 Corinthians 1:18-25, A Hymn to God the Father, Exodus 20: 1-17, John 2:13-22, John Donne, Lent, Year B Lent 3
Leave a comment
Ash Wednesday comes around again
Ashes line the grate after the great snow storm. Chill strikes down the chimney; a ghost stepping over the grave of last night’s fire. Ashes lift and shiver, settle and sigh, whisper to the warm wood tales of passion; eagerly, … Continue reading
A prayer for a bad day
(Save it for when you need it. May you never need it.) This post first appeared at the Episcopal Cafe, Speaking to the Soul, on February 10, 2021 There are days that will not let go.They drag at you like … Continue reading
red white and blue
Content warning for fear of gun violence at a school sirens stretch the air like an old jazz horn lights the color of a fresh wound pause snow around the school drive pounded into ice by parents pacing out their … Continue reading
A prayer for the preacher when words fail
January 9, 2021 Beyond Jordan, the baptizer cried repentance, preaching to snakes, devouring locusts, razing the wilderness with his words, confronting kings and drowning sins. At his neck, the knowledge of his own humility, the prickling of glory about to … Continue reading
Posted in current events, poetry, prayer, sermon preparation
Tagged John the Baptist, preaching, the baptism of Jesus, Word of God
2 Comments
The Magi by Night
They travelled by night.
They followed his star, meaning
they had to wait for darkness to fall as a mantle
about their shoulders to know the way; Continue reading
Posted in holy days, lectionary reflection, poetry, prayer
Tagged Epiphany, holy darkness, magi, Matthew 2:1-15
Leave a comment
The first breath
scented with humanity – the particulates of life – held for what seemed like eternity, let loose at last (his mother, astonished at the audacity of her body, gasped) with the force of a singular creation, splitting the skies, setting … Continue reading
over the water 