Category Archives: story

Year C Proper 5: the widows of Zarephath and Nain

A boy died in Zarephath, and his mother and Elijah cried out to God in anger at the injustice, in bitterness at the waste of life, saved by a miracle and spent so soon. Another mother’s son died in Nain, … Continue reading →

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Making an orange stole

I’ve had a request for a pattern and/or instructions for making orange stoles for Gun Violence Prevention. [You can read more about why I’m making orange stoles here.] As the project has grown and been shared beyond our imaginings, I … Continue reading →

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Suffer the children

It was Mother’s Day weekend, a weekend of mixed emotions, to say the least. I am among the fortunate. I spent the day surrounded by family, celebrating our eldest child’s college graduation in the Columbus sunshine. On Saturday, her younger sister … Continue reading →

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Postscript

… I mentioned in last night’s homily that the fate and faith of the Dorchester chaplains brought to my mind the musicians of the Titanic, and their own cords of friendship. Grave A hair’s breadth from panic, taut, trembling disguised … Continue reading →

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Driven to distraction

Riding shotgun in my mother’s car. It is early morning, rush hour. No one knows which way to go; our hold on the road is tenuous, seeking gaps between predatory traffic. Medications everywhere; bottles, sachets, paper patient info leaflets sprawl … Continue reading →

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Year C Christmas 2: he was twelve

Some of you know that shortly before Christmas we suffered a minor break-in here at the church. I came into the office the day before Christmas Eve to find that someone had entered the building by force, and had left … Continue reading →

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Lesser known legends of St Nicolas

Nikolai was born in Demre, Turkey, formerly known as Myra. Nikolai was born into a wealthy family, but he was orphaned at a young age and raised by monks at a local orphanage. When he came of age, Nikolai travelled … Continue reading →

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The strange story of Barry Baker

There are occasional joys in being a borderline hoarder. This week at Bible Study, we were looking at the Gospel for the coming Sunday, and feeling as bewildered as the poor people in the passage wondering what the devil Jesus … Continue reading →

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Unmiracle

A miracle is, by definition, unlikely to happen. When our daughter was ten, I lost her in the woods. She was ten, and actively honing her skills in defiance, contrariness, and flouncing. It was our first visit after moving away, … Continue reading →

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For tomorrow’s sermon: a little story about repentance

Once upon a time, I was a little girl, and that little girl had the attention span of a sphinx. I would get seriously, eternally lost in books, daydreams, and the stories and songs which soundtracked my inner mind. Fire, … Continue reading →

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