The Rt. Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, Bishop of Washington (Photo courtesy of Washington National Cathedral) I’ve just completed a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree at Duke University in Durham NC, and I am grateful for the knowledge and wisdom that I have gained from my professors and students in my cohort. Since we were hybrid students (going for Immersion Weeks three times per year with zoom classes in between), our class demographics were a bit atypical for a seminary. We were older and almost ...
Jun 23, 2025•4 min
I see it often on social media, “We are all children of God.” It is meant to be an inclusive statement to provide assurance that God does not discriminate, loving some of us and hating others. In our readings on Pentecost Sunday, there is a nuance that I hadn’t thought of before. We are all made in God’s image, but we are not all children of God. God is the creator of all things and therefore is the creator of all humans, but it is important to recognize when the New Testament talks of “Father” ...
Jun 10, 2025•3 min
As I approach my graduation at Duke Divinity School, I’ve been reflecting on some of my class assignments over the past four years. Many of them were very academic papers comparing historical doctrines, or exploring Christianity in another part of the world (in the class I took we explored Christianity in Latin America). Other assignments were more formative, encouraging us to deepen our personal spiritual life in reflecting not only on our education but on the world around us. For one of our fo...
May 06, 2025•4 min
The Descent from the Cross, Rubens (1612-1614), Cathedral of Our Lady, Antwerp, Belgium “After these things, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, though a secret one because of his fear of the Jews, asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission; so he came and removed his body. Nicodemus, who had at first come to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds. They took the body of Jesus and wrapped...
Apr 15, 2025•4 min
When I joined the Episcopal Church in 2008, I heard about the three-legged stool. The teaching discussed that the three sources of authority are scripture, reason and tradition. It made sense to me that you would not rely on just one or the other, and three legs gave it balance. The Rev. Chuck Collins in an article in The Living Church in 1998 took issue with the three-legged stool concept in that it isn’t written in the Book of Common Prayer and that three legs can end up in competition with ea...
Mar 20, 2025•54 sec
The Church of the Holy Trinity is a historic Episcopal Church in downtown Nashville just blocks from the Rescue Mission. It was established in 1852 as a "free" church for Black Episcopalians in the area known as South Nashville. It was listed on the National Historic Register in 1972 and will celebrate its 175th anniversary in 2027. In preparation for a year of celebrations, Rector Bill Dennler has started a new worship service at 5pm on Saturday evenings. With the growth of both music venues an...
Mar 13, 2025•3 min
Saint Agatha by Cariani (Giovanni Busi) (1485-1547), 1516 - 1517 National Galleries, Scotland What's in a name? One way to have a new group introduce themselves is to ask them to tell a story of how they got their name. Many are named after family members, but I wasn't; I was named after a Saint. I was raised Roman Catholic and my mother's due date was February 5. In the Roman Catholic calendar that has been the Feast Day of St. Agatha since her death in 271 A.D. Agatha was born in Sicily into a...
Feb 06, 2025•3 min
Rabbits Making Mochi in the Moon Harada Keigaku Woodblock print Ca. 1850, Courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (A mochi is a Japanese rice cake) We have wonderful exhibitions at the Frist Art Museum in Nashville and currently, I’ve been leading tours for Journey Through Japan: Myths to Manga . The exhibition will be on display through February 16, 2025. In the first gallery is a beautiful story from Japanese folklore of how the moon is home to the rabbit. The ancient story tells a ...
Dec 20, 2024•3 min
I’ve always been an early riser, and I’ve adopted the habit of saying Morning Prayer from the Daily Office since I became an Episcopalian in 2008. It is part of my commitment to my Rule of Life (Chapter 18) that I have developed as a Fellow of The Society of St. John the Evangelist , an Episcopal monastery in Cambridge, MA. A few years ago, I discovered a free app on my phone that makes keeping the Daily Office easy but meaningful. I enjoy it as the Scripture verses, Canticles, and Saints’ Comme...
Dec 09, 2024•3 min
I’ve joined a group that is studying Celebrating Abundance for Advent. It is a book of devotions from Walter Brueggemann. Tuesday’s reading for the first week of Advent is titled, “ Celebrating the New Abundance”. Last week I had been contemplating how I wanted to live more out of sufficiency (having enough) rather than the abundance of having more than I need. The devotion for Tuesday this week has added a new angle to my thinking. Walter comments, “let me tell you the news that is proclaimed a...
Dec 02, 2024•3 min
“Gathering of the Manna,” James Tissot (1896-1902), The Jewish Museum, New York City I just finished the best class at Duke Divinity, “Old Testament and Leadership” taught by Dr. Ellen Davis and Dr. Sarah Musser. In addition to challenging readings and wonderful guest speakers, I realized that most of my religious life had been spent learning about the New Testament even though it is only 25% of the whole Bible and has about 5,000 words compared to 12,000. In our last class session we were shari...
Nov 27, 2024•4 min
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash Another Immersive Week at Duke is complete. I’m enrolled in the Master of Divinity program at Duke University. It is in a hybrid format, so I travel to Durham three weeks of the year to start each term and then have weekly zoom classes. I’m a senior looking forward to graduation in May 2025. This term I’m taking a class in Old Testament in Leadership with Dr. Ellen Davis. We had a great week with lots of reading, daily journals, and group-led discussions. I part...
Sep 02, 2024•3 min
I’ve started a new book, Why You Can’t Pay Attention and How to Think Deeply Again , by Johann Hari. I’ve been intrigued for a number of years with the concept of “multi-tasking”. Do I really get more done when I’m engaged with five simultaneous projects? Or what about the four books on my nightstand? Would I be better off reading one at a time? Johann’s book starts out with the author taking his godson to Memphis to visit Graceland. When he was nine, the godson was obsessed with Elvis Presley a...
Jul 08, 2024•4 min
This Thursday is Ascension Thursday on the church calendar which marks 40 days after Easter and the day that Christ was taken up into heaven (Luke 24:51). Growing up Roman Catholic, this was a Holy Day of Obligation where you had to attend a mass, and in some European countries it is celebrated as a public holiday (e.g. Germany, France, Austria, Belgium, and the Netherlands). Ascension Thursday commemorates a specific event in the life of the church, but the three days preceding it (Monday-Wedne...
May 06, 2024•3 min
I’ve had a disordered relationship with food for all of my adulthood. It began after my brother died when I was seven and I developed stomach aches every morning at school. My teacher would take me down to the school nurse each morning for cinnamon toast until I felt better. (I came from a small town, and everyone knew everyone; my teachers were all friends with my mother). Although the morning feeding was helpful and after six weeks, I was able to stay in class all day, I associated food with t...
Feb 26, 2024•3 min
Incorporating simplicity into my life isn’t a one-time “cleaning out.” I want it to be a lifestyle change that makes a difference for years to come. This week I am tackling my pantry. It isn’t huge, but it’s stuffed with assorted non-perishables that I’ve acquired over the years since the pandemic. In some cases, it was easy to buy “giant-sized” purchases from Amazon and Costco during the pandemic, but I also realized that there are remnants of unrealized dreams in my pantry, too. There was the ...
Feb 12, 2024•3 min
This coming week I’m going to be focusing on Simplicity in Possessions. I know that this isn’t easy and will actually be a commitment to a lifestyle change, but I need to start somewhere! I realized that I have areas of my house where I have stored away things purchased during the pandemic. Some of them are “case quantities” of everyday items that were only available from Amazon or Costco in large quantities, and others are things that I thought I needed to prepare for a new lifestyle under the ...
Feb 05, 2024•4 min
image from wayhomestudio on Freepik I’m in the M.Div. program at Duke Divinity and this term I’ve chosen by personal focus to be on Simplicity as a spiritual discipline. Last week I looked at “Simplicity of Time”, wanting to return my relationship with time to a place of holiness. In reviewing Guenther’s chapter on simplicity, I kept coming back to her comment, “do I really need to know what the weather is going to be like in Berlin, today?” I realized how much time I spend each day checking my ...
Jan 29, 2024•4 min
The Holiness of Time, SSJE.org Margaret Guenther in her book, The Practice of Prayer , says that simplicity calls for a “radical trust that does not come easily.” I’m glad to hear that it’s not second nature; I’ve been trying to lead a more simple life for decades. I either fail miserably or seem to have success for awhile and then slip back into bad habits. Maybe I’m looking at simplicity from the wrong point of view. Guenther talks about attempts to return to nature by growing her own food and...
Jan 22, 2024•4 min
On December 27th each year, we celebrate the Feast Day of St. John the Evangelist, writer of the Gospel and letters, and who many believe also wrote Revelation. St. John’s Gospel is my favorite as I find it to be a constant encouragement and reminder that I am loved by God; I don’t have to earn my way into heaven. The readings for the day include the story from John’s Gospel (21:9-24) when Jesus appeared to the disciples on the beach after the Resurrection and invites them to breakfast. He asks ...
Dec 26, 2023•3 min
I’ve just returned from my second hike of the Camino de Santiago in Spain. I had such fond memories of my first trip in 2019, I wanted to go back since the day I returned. On the first trip I had gone not knowing anyone on the trip who then became my friends. This time I wanted to return to show friends the beauty and romance of the Spanish landscape and its people. One thing I missed on my first trip had become a quest. Over twenty years ago, I began reading books and poems by St. John of the C...
Oct 16, 2023•3 min
It was hot this Summer in Nashville, like miserably hot. I had stopped walking in my neighborhood because of the heat; even my gold retrievers thought the pavement was too hot for their paws. We’d play a bit in the backyard, but then they’d even beg to come back in the house. Today it was a delightful 61 degrees in the early morning and my church has re-started a Walk in Love Gathering at Edwin Warner Park which is only minutes from my home here in Nashville. It was lovely to take a stroll with ...
Sep 15, 2023•2 min
I always enjoy hearing from my readers, but this recent email is special: from Barbara, a “wife, mum and nanna in the UK.” Barbara writes: I just wanted to send you a little message to tell you what a blessing your book “You are loved: praying with John” is being to me. I am fairly new to praying with beads, and recently felt a drawing in my heart to grow in my belovedness, and to pray with Scripture, so your book seems heaven sent to me! Several years ago, I did a wonderful Ignatian prayer jour...
Jun 01, 2023•4 min
It is good to read the stories in the New Testament and have a general idea of the meaning or lesson that the Gospel writers were trying to convey in capturing the teachings of Jesus. But it is even more meaningful when you see the story being lived out in our modern world. The Church of the Holy Trinity is an Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Tennessee located in downtown Nashville just a few blocks from the Rescue Mission. The church holds a worship service every Sunday at 1 PM for everyone i...
May 15, 2023•4 min
This Thursday of Holy Week is known as Maundy Thursday where we commemorate the Last Supper where Jesus celebrated his final meal with his disciples. After washing His disciples’ feet as a sign of humility, Jesus gave them a new commandment, “ "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another" (John 13:34). In Nashville this past week, we have experienced unspeakable grief with a school shooting at The Covenant School where th...
Apr 05, 2023•4 min
We wonder why it seems like God doesn’t hear our cries. With Lent around the corner, I’m reminded of days of fasting and abstinence growing up in the Roman Catholic church. There was a sacrifice involved, but it was hard to not forget and accidentally eat meat on a Friday. It didn’t seem that fasting brought me any closer to God. In Isaiah 58, we hear the prophet crying out as it seems that God isn’t listening. The prophet begs for God to acknowledge the people and points out that they are fasti...
Feb 09, 2023•3 min
At Duke Divinity School, the Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health offers monthly webinars via zoom. I’m looking forward to the one this week: Spirituality, Recovery and Resilience: A Holistic Bio-Psycho-Social Spiritual Approach to Mental Health Treatment. (Anyone can join the free webinar: Tuesday, Jan 31, 2023, 11:00-12:00 CST. Zoom: https://duke.zoom.us/j/94380012247?pwd=aTZ2bUxWSWtQaG05bmFlNEQ4VXBpUT09 ) I’ve been reading a lot about the changes the pandemic had on us socially: we’ve...
Jan 30, 2023•4 min
Many of us had high expectations for 2022. After two years of the pandemic, 2022 had to be a better year. I heard a lot of people anxious to get back to “normal” and others vowed to make some changes and be thoughtful in their commitments. We were all relieved that the pandemic had subsided and that we had medications that at least made for lesser symptoms but did 2022 step up to our expectations? This past week I’ve talked with many people who expressed disappointment that 2022 wasn’t what they...
Jan 01, 2023•4 min
I feel best when I am serving others. In recognizing and helping with the needs of other people, it forces me to focus on someone other than me. It prevents me from being self-centered and wanting everything to be perfect in my world. I am blessed with abundance in my life, but it is easy for me to take the bountiful harvest for granted. There are always needs to be met if we are willing to look outside of ourselves. Yesterday, I had the privilege of helping a sister Episcopal church in Nashvill...
Nov 14, 2022•2 min
I seem to need to “return to center” frequently these days. The news across the world is tragic with wars and human oppression. The news seems relentless in its ability to promote anxiety. Regularly, I need to stop and to pray, but first I need to settle down into the right frame of mind to listen to what God is speaking to me. When I need to re-center, it is almost always that I turn to music before i am ready to return to God. I have always loved all kinds of music but have been most intrigued...
Oct 17, 2022•8 min
