Limina : a sacred space for personal transformation

Preached at the Diocese of Maine Chrism Mass and renewal of baptismal and ordination promises on 8 April 2025 at St Mary the Virgin Episcopal Church in Falmouth, ME.
 
Based on:
John 12: 1-8
AND the work of Dr. Libby Schrader Polczer on the story of Lazarus and his sister Mary.

Preached at St. Margaret's Belfast ME on the occasion of the ordination of the Rev. Deacon Kristen Burkholder.
Based on:
Jeremiah 1: 4-9
Psalm 139: 1-17
Philippians 2: 1-11
Luke 22: 24-27
AND the extraordinary book Finding the Mother Tree by Dr. Suzanne Simard

Sometimes we can worry about finding the "right" path for our lives. This podcast invites you to consider that there are many paths to love, healing, and wholeness - no need to worry about missing "THE ONE!" The guidance you seek comes from the internal, divine spark of fire in each of us.

In this devotion at the Habitat for Humanity worksite, I reflected on how we respond to those events in our lives that turn things upside down. I hope you'll listen through to the end, when we were blessed by Carina who shares her story of becoming a homeowner. Please excuse the lower quality of her story as she was standing across the room from my microphone.

This meditation was offered at a memorial service following the sudden death of a 15-year old boy in our community. He was deeply loved in his family, school, sailing program, swim team, and music studio. His death leaves a gigantic hole in the lives of many people, and hundreds of family and friends gathered to honor Erik and grieve together. Please don't hesitate to reach out through our website if you need help carrying your grief. Abundant blessings to you.

One of my favorite things to do is to hang out on Habitat work sites. In my mind and heart, no other charitable organization does more to shift generational cycles of home-fragility and limited financial resources - all the while empowering the homeowners and affirming their inherent dignity. Since I have zero skills with tangible things other than fiber, they invite me to talk.... so I offer the morning devotion during snack. Habitat is a Christian organization, but people of all faiths and no faith are more than welcome to work on the sites to make real the dream of home ownership. Our site manager and volunteer coordinator, Barry and Iris Clickstein, hear of lot of devotions so I prepared this one for them.

On All Saints' Day, join me as I reflect on the saints in our lives who see us with the eyes of their hearts, and call us to do the same with everyone we meet.

Reflecting on insights from Geraldine Brooks' new novel Horse, the gospel story of the persistent widow, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr (thanks to Francisco Garcia), we explore how God can transform the most difficult times when we persist in prayer and demand a blessing.

When practicing gratitude, can we shift from being people who say "thanks" to being who live a thanking life? Join me as I reflect on the gospel lesson this weekend and explore the nuances of gratitude. You can also read more here.

Just as our physical bodies reflect the beauty of the Fibonacci sequence, our spirits can reflect the dignity and unconditional love that many of us experience with animals. Read more about this episode on my blog.