Who We Are

Floral Doxology

Posted by Wallace+

Praise God from whom all blessings flow,
Praise him all creatures here below,
Praise him above, ye heavenly host,
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

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Some Food for the Soul: Two Helpings, Two Friends

Posted by Wallace+

Saturday before last (the Rev.) Jim Somerville and I ran in the Monument Avenue 10K. It was a perfect morning to be out running (sunny, cool) on that beautiful avenue, with 37,000 other people (wow!), and 20+ bands playing tunes along the way. Jim wrote a blog post on the run that I thought I'd pass along, as (good, and entertaining) food for the soul. And, by the way, I'm sure there's also a "faster rector" out there!

Also, last week my next door neighbor, Kristen Swenson, an author and VCU professor of religious studies, wrote a charming and insightful op-ed for the RTD on translating and interpreting scripture. I thought I'd pass that along as well.

I Iiked Kristen's mention, in particular, of the Hebrew word for "work" (or "till") used in Genesis to identify what God put the human being in the garden to do. As she explains, that same word is used to mean...

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Easter e-Mo by Barbara Crafton

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I commend to you this endearing Easter reflection by the Rev. Barbara Cawthorne Crafton.

The Rev. Barbara Cawthorne Crafton

Barbara is known to St. Paul's by way of the Lenten Preaching Series. I receive her Almost Daily e-Mo. I'd recommend subscribing.

Happy Easter!

And out into the sunshine we go!

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At-one-ment

Posted by Wallace+

From yesterday's Word from Grace Street:

Madeleine L'Engle told the story of how, one Holy Week, a young friend said to her, "I cannot cope with the atonement."

L'Engle's answer was that neither could she, if, that is, atonement was understood to be all about crime and punishment, and some forensic maneuver by the Divine.

On the other hand, going back to the true meaning of the word, and, for that matter, to the word's etymology, L'Engle discovered, or rediscovered, something that she could believe in: at-one-ment.

As she explained, "It simply means to be at one with God. Jesus on the cross was so at-one with God that death died there on Golgotha, and was followed by the glorious celebration of the Resurrection."

Click here to read the full message.

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Keep Awake

In A Word From Grace Street this week, Wallace highlights the writings of two individuals who are "open to the world, to life."  He reminds us to "Keep awake."

"...and [she] played the exquisite Chopin Prelude No. 2 in A minor, the notes of the slow movement like raindrops on birch leaves, smoke drifting by, an anguished old man pacing in the grass..."

- Garrison Keillor. Describing his experience of hearing a young woman transform an otherwise seemingly unremarkable evening by way of an impromptu performance, leaving him "feeling buoyed up" for days afterward.

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