Category Archives: Uncategorized

Well, dear reader, today finds me standing on the shores of the mighty and beautiful Lake Huron. Ostensibly, I am here for a round of golf with friends, but truth be told, the golf is almost incidental. (And depending on how my swing goes today, it may be just as well that it remains incidental.)Continue reading “A Round of Golf and a Round of Gratitude”

Dear reader, my mind still often drifts back to the Camino, as though my boots are determined to keep walking even while I sit at my desk. Along that pilgrim’s road I stepped into more churches, chapels, and cathedrals than I can rightly count. Now, before you accuse me of excessive piety, I should admitContinue reading “Stones, Stamps, and Sanctuaries”

Well, dear reader, today I have resolved to do something I almost never manage to do as a parish priest: absolutely nothing. You see, Sundays are rarely Sabbaths for clergy. They are days of sermons, sacraments, and a fair bit of holy scurrying about, all of which is blessed but none of which is restful.Continue reading “A True Sabbath (With No Fine Print Attached)”

Well, dear friends, as I glance ahead on the calendar, I see that I have but one week of vacation left. It has been magnificent so far — full of family, rest, golf, and, of course, the Camino adventures I’ve shared with you. But one unavoidable reality now looms on the horizon: the “stuff” thatContinue reading “Tidying up the Ordinary”

Welcome again, dear reader, to this humble chronicle of my day-to-day walk of faith. Now, you might think that a priest on vacation has little of theological merit to say—after all, there are no sermons to write, no pastoral calls to make, no altar to set. But in truth, that is perhaps one of theContinue reading “God in the Everyday (and on the Golf Course)”

Hello again, dear reader. As the days stretch out after my walk along the Camino de Santiago de Compostela, I find myself reflecting more and more on the whole adventure. One truth stands as clear now as it did with every step on that dusty road: I was walking that path in the company ofContinue reading “Walking in the Company of Christ (and a Few Hobgoblins)”

Although I am still, at least in theory, on vacation from my parish duties, dear reader, I found myself wandering back to church the other evening. Not to lead worship, not to sit in a vestry meeting (thanks be to God), but to join in on our monthly Community Dinner. Now, some might say thatContinue reading “Home Again, Home Again… Even on Vacation”

Well, dear reader, as so often happens when families gather, there were more stories flying about than could possibly fit into one tidy post. But one in particular deserves to be shared. My father’s cousin Darrell arrived at the reunion clutching an important-looking envelope. With all the solemnity of a man bearing sacred relics, heContinue reading “I’m Not Dead Yet: Notes on Scams, Saints, and Silly Letters”

Well, dear reader, there are few joys quite like arriving home from Spain, and even fewer that compare with collapsing at last into one’s own bed. After weeks of hostels, hotels, and beds of varying degrees of penitential hardness, mine felt positively celestial—like resting in Abraham’s bosom, only with a better pillow. But August, asContinue reading “From Compostela to the Clubhouse: Pilgrim Feet and Family Fairways”

Well, dear reader, I keep assuring you that this will be the final installment of our ill-fated journey home… but by this point I am beginning to suspect I am writing the Anglican Book of Never-Ending Travelogues. We rose at the delightful hour of 3:30 a.m. — a time normally reserved for milk deliveries andContinue reading