Works of Heart: Building Village Through the Arts by Lynne Elizabeth and Suzanne Young
I saw this book some months back in my hippie catalog and finally got around to reading it. What a fun book about different ways that artists have used their art to bring people together for the betterment of their communities. There […]

An article for National Crankypants Presbytery’s monthly newsletter:
This week the MacArthur Foundation named 24 new MacArthur Fellows as recipients of their so-called “genius grants.” These fellowships were awarded to a medieval historian, an education strategist, an opera singer, a poet, a water quality engineer, a spider-silk biologist, and a blues musician, among others.
The award is […]

Several weeks ago I read this article about a writer, Stephen Elliott, who gave up the Internet for a month.
It was a neat read—I find myself wanting to quote the whole thing though…

So what did I do during my month offline? “You must be getting so much done!” was the refrain I heard constantly. That […]

So I am looking through my files for writing exercises to do in class tomorrow, and I ran across this little thing I wrote for a preaching/poetry class in seminary. Unedited. We had to write something that took place in our mother’s kitchen, and as I recall, it had to incorporate a color and something […]

During Lent here at Suburban Presbyterian Church, we are exploring the creative and liturgical arts, with classes and speakers dealing with storytelling, iconography, dance, visual art, writing, and so on. The theme is “A Beautiful Thing,” inspired by the story of the woman anointing Jesus and his declaration that “She has done a beautiful thing […]

Some of the readings for the Lessons and Carols service on Sunday, adapted for “speakers’ choir”:
Still to revise a bit (suggestions?), and figure out who will be saying what, and rehearse, and did I mention that now it’s *little she-who-is* who is running a fever?…
It’s like being nibbled to death by ducks.
FIRST LESSON Genesis 3:8-15 […]

Long day, tired, just time to do one quick practice, a poem in response to “Apology to the Wasps” by Sara Littlecrow-Russell, from the September 21 show click here to read it; scroll down
No Apologies
Your What’s that? had always been met
with silky wonder, the unrolling of
a sacred scroll, explanation, unhurried;
This time the answer interrupted the […]

I receive The Writer’s Almanac in my mailbox each morning. I must confess that while I unsubbed from the daily scripture e-mail before M was born and still haven’t resubbed, I never miss the daily poem from the Writer’s Alamanac. It’s the only *daily* devotional reading I do.
Right now I’m sitting in a Panera, having […]

A few weeks ago, our presbytery had a luncheon to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the ordination of women. It was one of my “take M to work” days, so I schlepped her and all of her stuff to the church where it was held—one of the closest ones to Suburban Pres. Still, I arrived […]

Things I might like to do
if/when I have the time
and/or money
and/or kids that are older and less dependent on me:
–go on pilgrimage to Iona next summer with members of the church, rather than just being the staff person doing the legwork at this point
–Spanish-language immersion in Guatemala for 2-3 weeks
–MFA in writing at Seattle Pacific […]

It hasn’t been edited, it really doesn’t have much of a beginning or an end really, and I’m not sure what the point is, or even if there needs to be one.
—–
This morning C was showing us some hand signs. “This means stop, this means go, this means dude.” I didn’t even know she knew […]

Well I finished the scarf today, and wrapped it in a piece of flip chart paper, taped together with mailing labels (which I looped and hid under the flaps of the wrapping–otherwise, unsightly), and tied with the last stray bit of the Eros yarn. All in all I was proud of that little bit […]