“Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many … the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable” Paul, 1 Corr. 12:14, 22 Paul was responding to a church filled with conflict; at other points he writes of ‘quarrels’ and divisions: I belong to Paul, I belong to …
The Starting Point of Community
“We share with one another the creative work of living in the world.” Thomas Merton, Care of the Soul Merton creates and then extinguishes a paradox of life: the question of whether it is the contemplative life, the interior life, the life focused on self-development, or the life of action, of deeds, of community development, …
Grey February
“The Doldrums, my young friend, are where nothing ever happens and nothing ever changes.” Norton Juster, The Phantom Tollbooth I often feel in the Doldrums in February. Juster’s description of the graying surroundings, the cool, uncomfortable but not offensive air, the muted environment, it all just hangs. A little bit like the Waiting Place in …
Returning more than gifts
“ … the vibrations set in motion by the words that we utter reach through all space and the tremor is felt through all time.” Maria Mitchell Maria Mitchell was a Unitarian in the nineteenth century, the first female American astronomer, the first woman elected fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences … …