My Facebook News Feed is filled with anxious friends trying to get an appointment for the COVID-19 vaccine. I was lucky to start the Moderna vaccine last Friday when I located a small independent pharmacy with an available appointment for group 1a2. Since each county is moving through the Tennessee algorithm at a different rate, and the rate of vaccine refusals varies, there is a mad dash to register in multiple surrounding counties as well as your own. It is a ‘survival’ instinct that we have: ...
Feb 11, 2021•2 min
The Woman from Samaria at the Well, James Tissot, 1886-1894, Image courtesy Brooklyn Museum of Art In my career, I had lots of training in management and leadership and ‘how to be a good boss’. There were some variations, but the core element of all the training programs was that in order to be a good boss, you had to be a good listener. I hope that I got better at this over time, but I had to constantly remind myself that I didn’t know everything and I certainly didn’t know how another person w...
Jan 28, 2021•5 min
“Adam and Eve”-Peter Paul Rubens, 1629, courtesy Museo Nacional de Prado A new Bible Study has led me to start at the beginning, with Genesis. In addition to telling us about the “beginning” and “creation”, the early chapters also tell us about the character of God as told by Moses. Creation is “very good” but then we learn of The Fall in Chapter 3. Adam was warned not to eat from one tree in the Garden of Eden, or that he would “certainly die”. And Adam passed along that information to Eve when...
Jan 19, 2021•3 min
Proverbs 6 (ESV) 16 There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: 17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18 a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, 19 a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers. Blessings, my friend, Agatha...
Jan 11, 2021•54 sec
Catedral de Santiago de Compostela, Spain I’m welcoming 2021 with great enthusiasm. It’s time to turn the page on 2020 and get a fresh start. A lot changed in 2020 and it’s time to keep the new that is good, and discard the bad. There’s another reason that 2021 is special: It is a Holy Year in Santiago, Spain. Tonight, on December 31, the Holy Door will be opened and remain open for the entire year. This only happens when St. James’ Feast Day (July 25th) falls on Sunday as it will in 2021. I got...
Dec 31, 2020•3 min
Photo courtesy of Mission San José , San Antonio For decades my holiday tradition has been to attend a Christmas Eve church service that ends after midnight. I would rush home with the glow of Christmas carols sung in community and then open Christmas presents, since it was actually Christmas morning! I’d sleep late and then take a hike (or at least a long walk) by myself contemplating the year and counting my blessings. This year the tradition comes to an end. An Episcopal Church is coordinatin...
Dec 21, 2020•3 min
Today is my birthday! As of 4:05 AM (EST), I am 66 years old (according to my baby book). I have never feared getting older knowing that longevity comes with wisdom. This year saw many changes for our world as well as me personally. I retired from full-time employment in August and wanted to carefully discern how I would be spending the rest of my time on earth. As I heard Tom Hanks say in an interview this week, “there’s just certain things that a guy like me who’s 64 shouldn’t be doing any mor...
Dec 13, 2020•6 min
Puente de San Xoan de Furelos: Palas de Rei to Arzua on the Camino de Santiago, Spain Due to the pandemic and my retirement in August, I’ve had more time on my hands than ever before. One thing I’ve engaged in is to take virtual Spanish lessons through the University of Tennessee. I started the third and last course in the series this week and it appears to be engaging but challenging. To increase my vocabulary, I’ve been reading my morning meditations first in Spanish and then in English ( Forw...
Nov 16, 2020•2 min
As this election season comes to a close, I am thankful for the extra time I will have when the winners is declared. Between, emails, texts, television ads and social media, it has been impossible to escape the barrage of truths, half-truths, and no-truths to which we have been subjected. Hopefully we can get back to a civil running of the country and focus on more important things, like ME. Yes, like ME. What I have learned over many election cycles is that running for office is a dirty game wh...
Nov 02, 2020•3 min
Novenas are ancient public or private prayers that are repeated for nine days or weeks. In this election season, Presiding Bishop Michael Curry of the Episcopal Church has called on everyone to gather and together pray for our nation and the election. The Rev. Jay Sidebotham speaks on the initiative: “In this election season, we carry out an important ministry with our prayers, making the commitment through personal spiritual practice to be present to our nation in this critical time, asking for...
Oct 25, 2020•2 min
“The Calling of the Apostles Peter and Andrew”, 1308-1311, Duccio di Buoninsegna, image courtesy of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC For the past 6 months, I’ve seen a lot written around a basic question, “What is Church?” When I was growing up, church was a building I went to out of obligation. Strong Roman Catholic roots and post-college Southern Baptist preaching taught me about the sin of neglecting my church attendance. I’d been convinced there was a special place in heaven releg...
Oct 02, 2020•3 min
NYT Magazine, September 20, 2020 “Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” (James 2:15-17 (NIV)) In retirement, I’ve asked God for clear direction on where I need to be spending my time. I don’t want to just grasp at activities to fill up time or share my friends’ mi...
Sep 21, 2020•4 min
St. Francis of Assisi, Wood, Interior Mexico, 1998 Yesterday’s Forward Movement meditation asked a pertinent question in my life: Is God inviting you to serve in a new way, one different from where you want to serve? How will you respond? I’ve been in a year-long discernment process as I prepared for my retirement from full-time employment. “When should it occur?” More importantly, “Why should it occur?” The “when” part of the question became clear with the pandemic and I retired from full-time ...
Sep 14, 2020•4 min
It’s time to drop the labels. Rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, Socialist or even Christian. The labels don’t mean anything any longer. Not only is “rich” and “poor” not well defined, it is a stereotype to apply to someone that I don’t know. Just because I live in a certain part of town or zip code doesn’t automatically mean I’m “rich” or that I vote Republican; unless you know me and my history, you can’t label me. Growing up my mother said that we were “Catholics” as if that defined ever...
Sep 02, 2020•3 min
Since I started in the working world in 1977, I’ve always had employer-sponsored health insurance. Because my employer has been the negotiator, I’ve had little direct interaction with the insurance companies with the exception of two denials: a denial for long-term disability insurance since I had breast cancer in 2006, and a denial for an open-sided MRI from an HMO plan due to my claustrophobia in traditional MRIs. I had an HMO plan for only the one year when I was diagnosed with breast cancer,...
Aug 18, 2020•10 min
Today starts a new chapter as I retired from my full-time job with HCA Healthcare yesterday. I’ve served in San Antonio and Nashville, and it has been the bulk of my pharmacy career; 23 years of the 43 I’ve been in practice. It has been a time the past few months during the pandemic of looking back over my adult years and since I’ve worked full-time continuously since my graduation, many of my memories center around the people and places associated with my employment. There are memories of my fi...
Aug 11, 2020•3 min
Brothers of SSJE at Br. Luke’s Ordination to the Diaconate, June 2020 I had the pleasure of seeing (yes, seeing via Zoom), two of the Brothers of The Society of Saint John the Evangelist this week as they facilitated a session for members of the Fellowship of Saint John. I have been unable to make my customary bi-annual visits to the Episcopal Monastery in Cambridge, MA, so this was a delight to see Brother Luke and Brother Curtis via Zoom. I enjoyed both of the short meditations that they offer...
Jul 24, 2020•4 min
Dr. Chester A. Robinson Jackson State University I’m spending a lot of time at home like the rest of us. I’ve found that my garden has never looked better and I’ve started weeding out some things I’ve had in the attic for awhile. Photos bring back memories of fun days with family and friends. I found a letter. It was tucked in the wrong place in a bookcase on a shelf I haven’t visited in a long time. It was from a professor in my Ph.D. program at Tennessee State University. He was our healthcare...
Jun 29, 2020•3 min
It is a confusing world now. With countries shut down and citizens relegated to our houses, our “normal” world has been turned upside down. In hearing the news, it appears our democracy is in danger when every person, regardless of race is regarded with dignity and honor. Our scientists caution us about the virus, “It isn’t over yet.” I’ve always been an optimist thinking that every tough situation will get better, or that some problems will just disappear. But, reflecting back on my life so far...
Jun 15, 2020•4 min
Alice Oakleaf Hydrangea As we head toward the summer solstice on June 20th, my flowers are enjoying the warmer and rainy weather. Each year they remake themselves after the cold dormant days of winter, opening up to the enticing rays of the sun. For many of us, life had not become a time of rhythms like we find in nature, but instead it was a constant, weary battle. We’d spend our days struggling to get “caught up”, crossing 80% off our daily “to-do list”, but never 100%. We didn’t have a quiet ...
May 25, 2020•4 min
A friend just introduced me to a short service in the Book of Common Prayer, An Order of Worship for the Evening which contains the hymn: “O Gracious Light “ or Phos hilaron. The hymn was the appointed hymn at Evening Prayer last night at The Society of Saint John the Evangelist, an Episcopal Monastery in Cambridge, MA. It was first recorded in the late 3rd or early 4th century and is the oldest hymn still in common use today. It is often sung at the lighting of the lamps in the evening and is a...
May 13, 2020•2 min
I was always too busy playing, golfing, or schoolwork Dashing off to the next event Lots of time in the car singing along to the latest song Now, each morning the sun rises first And delights with a hot orange or dusty pink The birds awakening beginning their chatter The first rays of sunshine appear I take my hanging baskets of begonias and set them out to catch those first rays Next it’s my china doll plant and pomegranate bonsai onto the back porch There they sit in the warmth of another day ...
May 05, 2020•2 min
As a scientist and a member of the healing arts, I’ve been distressed about the “fake news” for a number of years, but even more distressed recently since lives are at stake. As of this morning there have been 172,120 deaths worldwide that were contributed to by the COVID-19 virus and 40,316 in the United States. It is presumed that there was community spread in the U.S., so 40,316 people reached out to someone else, infecting them with COVID-19 and causing their death. Even worse, we may never ...
Apr 22, 2020•3 min
Israel, 2011 We live in a great time of mystery. We have not seen a time that is less explained by science since we dove headlong into the Enlightenment. Although we can identify the scourge as the COVID-19 virus, we can neither describe its boldness nor determine its weakness. We are at present powerless to contain its spread. The early church fought similar battles against infectious diseases, but they were also more aware of another uncontrollable enemy: sin. We bewail the impact of our prese...
Apr 13, 2020•4 min
Antigua, Guatemala As we shelter at home, I have time to think more clearly about my life and purpose and to gain meaning from the past. I’ve been “running on empty” (a great Jackson Browne song) for years. I’m not sure when it started, or maybe it has always been there. Striving for good grades in high school and college, to make an impact in my career as a pharmacist, and volunteer work at church and our art museum. These are definitely all things I enjoy, but I realize that I have been runnin...
Apr 09, 2020•3 min
Santiago, my 7-1/2 month old golden retriever Although I normally work from home one or two days per week, my 7-1/2 month old Golden Retriever, Santiago, is not used to having me around 24/7. Not unlike my puppy, I have energy to spare right now. Although I’m occupied with work, my favorite distraction is to take Santiago for a walk. It used to be that we’d go for a short walk 3 or 4 times per day, but now it is upwards to 6 or 7. By the end of the day, Santiago is exhausted. I realize that even...
Mar 30, 2020•3 min
Rembrandt (1627) St. Paul in Prison courtesy of Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart, Germany This morning at 12:01 am, Mayor John Cooper issued a “Safer at Home” order for all Nashville residents. The order closes non-essential businesses and encourages residents throughout Davidson County to stay home when possible and avoid gatherings of over 10 people for non-essential purposes. In addition, all businesses not performing essential services were ordered to close for 14 days, starting at 12:01 a.m. Monday...
Mar 23, 2020•3 min
The Deluge , J.M.W. Turner, Exhibited 1805, courtesy Tate Britain This week’s meditation from The Society of St. John the Evangelist Monastery in Cambridge, MA is on WATER. The video has interesting reflections from many of the Brothers and the Rev. Becky Zartman. You can watch the 15:06 video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ed-fP3huw30 . Reflecting on last week, I realized that in addition to water being associated with the beginning of our life through baptism, it is also the mark of the...
Mar 09, 2020•4 min
Candles, Chapel, The Society of St. John the Evangelist, Episcopal Monastery, Cambridge, MA Today’s daily practice for the SIGNS OF LIFE Lenten series is to pray with the Third Song of Isaiah and let God speak to us through the Scripture (pg 87 BCP). As I read through the Song, I am comforted by the verses, “Violence will no more be heard in your land, ruin or destruction within your borders.” That will be my prayer for the remainder of Lent. What is God saying to you today? For the 15:51 video ...
Mar 02, 2020•2 min
Baptismal Font, cathedral de Avila, Avila Spain, 2019 This Wednesday is Ash Wednesday which starts the six-week season of Lent. This year, I won’t be giving up chocolate or wine; instead I plan to follow some daily practices that will help me go deeper into my faith. I’m following the SIGNS OF LIFE: WHY CHURCH MATTERS with the Brothers of the Society of Saint John the Evangelist , an Episcopal monastery in Cambridge, MA. The study was developed with the Department of Lifelong Learning at Virgini...
Feb 24, 2020•3 min
