Concerning Tools On the north side of the rectory, there is a retaining wall which is built along the property line. There is not a lot of “property” between the north side of the house and the wall — only about about three feet wide and maybe thirty feet long…

A Veterans’ Day Reflection In December 2011, while visiting my parents in Florida, I met the father of an active duty Marine deployed in Afghanistan. Here’s a revised blog post I wrote after my encounter, now edited to reflect the intervening years: Charles was a Lance Corporal in the United…

The Blessing of Family (originally posted on my blog, soulwerker.com, November 10, 2018) “We thank you for the blessing of family and friends, and for the loving care which surrounds us on every side.” — A General Thanksgiving, Book of Common Prayer, page 836 I am well aware that, for…

Party Time This has been a weekend of celebrations. After officiating for a wedding this afternoon, I traveled back to Wauwatosa for a special event. Tonight, parishioners of Trinity Church gathered to wish our recently retired administrative assistant, “Godspeed!” as she embarks on the next chapter of her life. There…

A Change of Heart “I’d rather do a funeral any day than a wedding.” Plenty of clergy say that. I used to be one of them. The logic for this sentiment centers mainly around the difficulty/impossibility of getting the various actors in any wedding ceremony to understand that it is…

Showing Up For Work Earlier this week I read a sobering and somewhat startling anecdote about the great artist Pablo Picasso: while he created one hundred pieces of art which are classified as “masterpieces,” the real genius of his creativity was his work ethic, because over the course of his…

On This Day… When I was a kid, our local evening paper always ran a little blurb called, “This Day in History,” which appeared on the front page, below the fold, set within a rectangle or square, on the lower right hand corner. I so loved learning bits of historical…

A Day in the Life “What do you do all day?” I get that question often enough you’d think I would have a pat answer by now. But I don’t. …

Bangers & Mash Preaching In 2011, on my first sabbatical, I had the opportunity to spend a few days waking around Dublin, Ireland. The first evening after my arrival, I strolled into a very nice restaurant, took a seat at the bar, ordered a pint of Guinness, and the slowly…