This past May we hosted the Honors Education in Research Universities at the University of Kentucky. As the host, I offered the following keynote address. May 21, 2024 “Grace, she takes the blameShe covers the shameRemoves the stain, it could be her nameGrace, it’s a name for a girlIt’s also […]
Grace
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I was humbled to be invited by Susan Hofer to offer the following sermon and reflection at Larry’s funeral on Saturday, June 15, 2024, at St. Peter’s Church. Lewes, DE. The readings were Isa. 61:1-6, Psalm 23, Rev. 21:2-7, and John 14:1-7. The obituary is below the sermon. Surely your […]
How long did Colin wear your shoesHow many miles walked, balls kicked, goals scoredIn your shoes?The soles came off before he gave them up. Who got your bike, new that Christmas?Did they ride it for days, up and down their streetOr hardly at allBecause it was always yours? She keeps […]
This is an entry in the “Acrostic Contemplations.” “Grace, she takes the blame She covers the shame Removes the stain It could be her name” I was sitting in a meeting of the university deans with the president and the provost presiding. We were discussing language for a new campaign, considering what slogan […]
Many with whom I mourned the deadAre dead, and mourn no more. BlessédAre they that mourn, for thus they haveThe fullest magnitude of loveAnd learn of it, whereby the deadOutlive their lives, and live insteadEternally in present graceWhere death, ashamed, can find no place,For love goes with them, out of […]
It is our nature to mark specific dates and times, not just the annual remembrance, but particularly those that seem somehow significant, whether numerically (5, 10, and so on) or personally, as when we passed the threshold when Mack had been gone from this world longer than he had been […]
Frederick Buechner died this week at the age of 96. It was a long life and his legacy and impact will be longer lasting still. Many have written and, no doubt on Sunday, many will preach about this remarkable author’s impact through word on the lives of so many. The […]
A reflection for Easter Sunday from Emil Brunner, Eternal Hope, (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1954). “But it is putting things the wrong way round to assert, as has been recently done, that the faith in the resurrection is ‘nothing other than faith in the Cross as a saving event’ (4). The […]
Elizabeth and I were so honored to be invited on Open To Hope’s Conversations: The Podcast. It was a wonderful chance to talk about Mack, grieving, and finding hope.
(Regarding the title of the essay, see Job 3:20-26.) This essay was written as part of the outreach program of The Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Lexington to continue to minister to our community in this time of uncertainty and “social distancing” that requires not meeting in person. […]