A few months ago, during worship, as the congregation was standing and singing together, I noticed something.   My friend, Alan Nesbitt, a music teacher who often leads singing for our church, had his tuning fork stuck in his belt.  He wasn’t leading singing that day, but he still had his tuning fork with him.  My first thought was […]

There is a thought I hear quite often.  It’s presented with such confidence that those who say it seem to think the matter settled.  This is how it goes: humans are most human when they surrender to their appetites and abandon all to instinct.  To resist one’s impulse is to deny one’s self.  Remarkably, this […]

Last Christmastide I, once again, grossly overestimated my powers. To begin with, in an attempt to be hospitable we had invited international guests into our home who spent most of Advent and all of Christmas with us. On Christmas Eve, my roast beef, which was intended to both impress and embody the spirit of feasting […]