“Ode to Joy” and the harrowing of hell
In 1786, Friedrich Schiller published his best-known work, a poem entitled “An die Freude,” known in English as “Ode to Joy.” Schiller’s..
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The blank canvas of winter
I love waking up early on a quiet winter morning to a fresh snowfall. I am perennially amazed when overnight everything is..
Beauty in virtual worship
Like many others, my church pivoted to virtual-only worship and programming for much of January. It was a difficult decision, but one..
Smell, memory and Christmas
One whiff of anise seed transports me back to childhood Christmases in a little Iowa farmhouse… Every Christmas, my late grandmother made..
How playing piano taught me to pray
It was one of my very first nights at seminary. Some new friends and I explored the town: walking the Princeton campus,..
Pastoring through a computer screen
It was September 2020. I had just ended a five-year stretch as a solo pastor, having ushered my small rural congregation through..
We carry ourselves wherever we go: Post-quarantine wisdom from the Desert Mothers
Quarantine is a period of social isolation to help arrest the spread of disease. Turns out, it is also apparently the time..