A Map of the World

October 11, 2011

Today was a sabbath day, a day for playing guitar.  Several years ago (1999) Pat Metheny contributed to the soundtrack for the film, “A Map of the World,” and the the title track evokes simplicity, depth, and transcendent beauty.  It plays like a prayer. I have not been able to find the transcription for the [...]

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St. Francis and the Footprints of God

October 4, 2011

On the Feast of St. Francis, it is good to remember his love of the created world. For Francis, the world was an alternative Prayer Book where the Vestigia Dei, the footprints of God, could be found everywhere. Ian Cron’s wonderful book, Chasing Francis, quotes this passage from The Second Life of Saint Francis of Assisi by Thomas of [...]

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The Holiness of Beauty – Pentecost 16

September 30, 2011

I was privileged last Sunday to worship with the community who call Liverpool Cathedral their spiritual home. The magnificence of the Cathedral, completed just 30 years ago, gives your spirit wings simply by the beauty of the holiness that surrounds you on every side. Or is it the holiness of beauty? Whether in a towering cathedral or a simple [...]

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Passing into Beauty

September 16, 2011

“We do not merely want to see beauty, though God knows, even that is bounty enough. We want something else which can hardly be put into words—to be united with the beauty we see, to pass into it, to receive it into ourselves, to bathe in it, to become part of it.” — C.S. Lewis, The [...]

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Fine Wine and Appreciative Faith

August 22, 2011

“All things in moderation, with a few glorious exceptions.” – Robert Mondavi During my summer sabbatical, I have been exploring the relationship between the creative arts and the soul’s search for God. By “creative arts” I mean at least music, poetry, visual arts, architecture–the culinary and viticultural arts as well. Last week, Debbie and I [...]

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What Do Evangelicals Have That We Don’t?

August 2, 2011

The Reverend Dr. Frederick W. Schmidt, Jr. Director of Spiritual Formation and Associate Professor of Christian Spirituality at Southern Methodist University, Perkins School of Theology in Dallas, Texas offers three positive qualities about evangelicanism today. What do Evangelicals have that we (Progressive, Mainliners) don’t have—other than larger churches, larger seminaries, bigger attendance on Sunday, more serious [...]

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A Quote To Ponder

August 1, 2011

“A Poet, a Painter, a Musician, an Architect: the Man or Woman who is not one of these is not a Christian.”  William Blake What do you think Blake is trying to say?

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John Stott: “An evangelical is a plain, ordinary Christian”

July 27, 2011

I was saddened to learn today of the death of the Rev. Dr. John R.W. Stott, an Anglican priest, Biblical scholar, and a living example of generous-spirited evangelical Christianity whose ministry will have a lasting impact upon my life, and that of my family for years to come. In the nascent years of an adult [...]

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Café Concert: Jason Vieaux

July 26, 2011

From WQXR the Classical Music Station of NYC: Until this year, the Curtis Institute of Music, the famed conservatory in Philadelphia, did not regard the guitar as an instrument worthy of a place in its curriculum. When the school changed its policy, it hired Jason Vieaux to co-run a guitar department. This week, Vieaux gave [...]

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Guitarists in the Monastery

July 21, 2011

“If there are artisans in the monastery, they are to practice their craft with all humility, but only with the permission of the abbot” (Rule of St. Benedict, Ch. 57). Last week, I spent an extraordinary week at Holy Cross Monastery in West Park, New York. This Benedictine community on the banks of the Hudson [...]

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