A week ago Thursday, we celebrated Diaz des los Muertos, Day of the Dead, All Saints … there are lots of names for this set of holidays. I tend to gravitate towards “All Souls,” myself, because it includes both the family members we want to remember and the historical figures that have inspired us.

In typical Monkfish fashion, we did our religious buffet and sampled from a bunch of traditions. Mr. Gill, the librarian at Eden and Cate’s school gave us sugar skulls to decorate. A stack of art supplies, saint cards from the local Catholic supply store (trippy!), and some family photos gave us plenty of fodder for creating icons … {read more…}

Monkfish Abbey is on the FRONT PAGE of the Seattle Post Intelligencer today. Check it!

The best part about doing this article was meeting the writer, Athima. She was so great to talk to. She’s very curious and has a keen sense of how things interconnect in her community. I really enjoyed spending time with her, learning about how she process a story. Thanks Athima!

Thanks too to Mike Urban, PI Photographer. The guy works the night shift and is used to spending his nights shooting basketball stars. I’m sure our group was considerably less thrilling. It was kind of him to spend so much time shooting our little world.

The reaction of various people this morning has been fun. … {read more…}

The Scripture:

Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man Bartimaeus (that is, the son of Timaeus) was setting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you!” Throwing aside his cloak, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus. “What do you want … {read more…}

By this light shall I come to know that you,
Eternal Trinity,
Are table
And food
And water to us.

-Catherine of Sienna

October 31, 2005

Last night I was very sad. It was my birthday and I wanted to be petted and celebrated. But for the past couple of decades I’ve been telling people that I don’t need a big deal made out of my birthday, that it doesn’t really matter. So they didn’t. But it does.

In the midst of my sadness I decided that I needed a date with a holy place. So I came to the chapel of St. Ignatius–serene, artfully serene in a way that only taste and money can accomplish. The only thing that disturbs me about this beautiful place is the … {read more…}

The big message of Sukkot is “God provides.” God provided manna from heaven, meat from the skies as ravens landed, sweet water from a dry rock in a dry land.

“God provides.” This is a hard message for me to swallow. God does provide in ways that I notice and feel, in ways that meet a felt need—sometimes, even often. But nearly as often (or at least, so it seems) my needs go unmet, my hurts unhealed, my bankbook unreconciled, my relationships unmended.

I suppose it can be said that God meets all of my needs in some sort of eschatological, end-of-life sort of way. Such as, “well, God will meet all … {read more…}

Just going through some old notes and finding treasures. Here are some great quotes from Todd Hunter, former director of Vineyard Christian Fellowships International and current president of Alpha USA. These notes were from a coaching clinic put on by Off The Map.

Whenever I’m with Todd, which is not nearly often enough, I wonder what would have happened if Vineyard could have made space for his innovative, prophetic voice. (Okay Alpha, don’t make the same mistake, you’ve got a gold mind there.) Thank goodness Todd didn’t let a mis-fit of vision keep him from following his path of obedience into the brave new world of a new kind of Christian! (Phew! Goody for me! … {read more…}