Category Archives: Spiritual Life

Angels: A Retraction

Posted on September 16, 2011 | 3 comments

Like many a minister, I’ve preached some very fine sermons that I can no longer recall and some roundly mediocre ones that I cannot seem to forget. Yet there is only one I truly regret delivering, not because it was rotten or wordy or diffuse but rather, because it was just wrong. I remember this sermon often, with a curious admixture of mortification and gratitude. Certain kinds of mistakes can be real gifts, if we receive them in the right spirit. Continue reading →

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Posted in Faith Journeys, Spiritual Life

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The Fleet of Blessing

Posted on September 3, 2011 | 1 comment

Now that summer’s nearly ended, I find myself nostalgic for the start of it. Nothing else signals the full swing of summer to me as much as the Blessing of the Fleet. While other children of New England will readily recognize this ritual, for the uninitiated: it involves all sailboats, trawlers, and other vessels that do float upon the waters getting bedecked and festooned and staging a parade past a member of the clergy who imparts a blessing on each and every one of them. Depending upon the size of the fleet, it can be quite a production — a glorious, slapdash, exhilarating, and exhausting production. Continue reading →

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Posted in Current Events, Spiritual Life

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