Spirituality

Fr. Glenn: As Trees By The River

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By Fr. Glenn Jones:

Oh, do we not love to focus on the positive of things? We love immediate gratification; after all, planning ahead and/or looking at inevitable consequences is sooooo not fun. And even Jesus said a kind of version of the same thing, didn’t He?! “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day’s own trouble be sufficient for the day.” (Matthew 6:34) Carpe diem!!

That’s the danger of taking scripture piecemeal—like Satan did in his tempting of Jesus, by the way—rather than looking at it as a whole. For just before the verse above, Read More

All Shall Be Well: Love Is Patient, Love Is Kind…Love Never Ends

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Clergy from left, Deacon Amy Schmuck, Deacon Cynthia Biddlecomb, retired, The Rev. Mary Ann Hill and The Rev. Lynn Finnegan. Photo by Nate Limback/ladailypost.com

By The Rev. Lynn M. Finnegan
Associate Rector
The Episcopal Church of the Holy Faith

Recently, I met with a couple planning to be married in the Spring. For their ceremony, they requested the most requested wedding scripture of all time: a passage from St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. It reads:

Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable Read More

Fr. Glenn: Convicted!

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By Fr. Glenn Jones:

Hardly a week goes by in the Catholic calendar in which there is not a memorial of a saint, and very often remembrance of one who endured great hardship or even martyrdom. We might think of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, royalty who gave away all her wealth. Or Damien of Molokai, who chose lifelong exile to minister the lepers. Or the thousands of missionaries who gave their lives to spread the Christian faith among unbelievers in hopes of leading them to eternal life and joy with God. Or the nuns who went singing to the guillotine. Or the many martyrs even of today in places like Nigeria Read More

All Shall Be Well: Sadly God Is Not Glorified And America Is Not Living Up To Her Promise

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Clergy from left, Deacon Amy Schmuck, Deacon Cynthia Biddlecomb, retired, The Rev. Mary Ann Hill and The Rev. Lynn Finnegan. Photo by Nate Limback/ladailypost.com

By The Rev. Mary Ann Hill
Rector
Trinity on the Hill Episcopal Church

What a difference two decades makes! At the very beginning of his first term in office, President George W. Bush issued two executive orders aimed at faith-based and community organizations in order to improve the delivery of social services:

“Faith-based and community organizations (FBCOs) have a long tradition of helping Americans in need and together represent Read More

Jim Hall To Recount March With MLK Sunday Feb. 16

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Jim Hall

By BERNADETTE LAURITZEN
Los Alamos

Former community member Jim Hall returns to Los Alamos with his wife Janet for a special presentation Feb. 16 at the United Church of Los Alamos. Hall will share his journey as a college student on the March for Justice with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It was Selma, Ala.,1965. His free presentation is a first-hand account of historical events that changed the nation.

Hall was a student at Macalester College in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area of Minnesota. He received his BA from Macalester, created in 1874 and today sits on 53 acres. Noteworthy alumni are Read More

Fr. Glenn: Re(Presenting) Ourselves

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By Fr. Glenn Jones:

Maybe you’ve caught some of the confirmation hearings for prospective (some now confirmed) members of President Trump’s cabinet. It’s the same every time when a new administration comes into office—the sidestepping of ticklish questions, and “gotcha” questions by adversaries on the various examining committees. But no doubt much of the public show is concerned with presentation on both sides … how they will appear to their constituencies, supporters and bosses so that their own particular target audiences will continue to support them.

Now, on February 2 of each year, Read More

All Shall Be Well: Faith, Hope And Love Abide

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Clergy from left, Deacon Amy Schmuck, Deacon Cynthia Biddlecomb, retired, The Rev. Mary Ann Hill and The Rev. Lynn Finnegan. Photo by Nate Limback/ladailypost.com

By Deacon Cynthia Biddlecomb
M.Div., ELCA

Many of us are feeling lost, scared or depressed these days as we hear tidbits of national news. Try to tune it out and we miss important information about the direction our country is being taken. Watch it with fervid interest and we have trouble sleeping peacefully through the night. 

What can we hang on to when our long-held values no longer seem to matter? It seems like the chaos has only just Read More

Fr. Theophan On Being Blessed, Giving Grace

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Photo by Fr. Theophan

By Fr. Theophan
Rector
Saint Job of Pochaiv Orthodox Church

I am extremely lucky, or blessed by providence, if you will, I will admit that freely. I was born into a loving middle-class family and believed from the beginning that I could achieve whatever I put my mind to. I was encouraged to follow my heart into art school after high school. In retrospect that may not have been the wisest choice.

During college in Las Cruces, I was a courtesy clerk at a grocery store that was not the nicest of places. Let’s just say they found it necessary to hire a third-party security guard after dark. Read More

Fr. Glenn: Extreme Data Points

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By Fr. Glenn Jones:

Well … it’s been an interesting week, don’t you think? President Trump inaugurated, subsequently resulting in a flurry of executive actions. Love him or not, you have to admit that he’s definitely made his mark in the world during his life—certainly more than most people. Yep … definitely way off the average, and at 78 years old already, apparently not going quietly into the night.

As has J.D. Vance. Again, like him or not, it’s hard not to be impressed by his story. In his childhood he had almost nothing going for him—raised in poverty and with myriad disadvantages, he nonetheless Read More