Magical Memoir Moments
Teaching and Learning Across the Life Span: 2017 Here We Come!
As the new year begins, I am connected to young grandchildren and to the honors students, seniors at Eastern Mennonite University, I am preparing to teach this semester. Beyond this semester, I look forward to becoming a “grannynanny” again next fall.
A Pennsylvania Christmas: A Living Example of Jubilación
On the way east from Collegeville, Minnesota, the last stop we made before turning south was at Landis Homes, the retirement community where my mother lives. There 40 descendants of Richard and Barbara Ann Hess Hershey gathered to celebrate Christmas. In the middle of our circle sat the grande dame, the matriarch, the dowager empress….
The Sweet Sorrow of Saying Goodbye to Collegeville
What a week this has been! We had our last worship services, our last seminar and wine and cheese after party, and now the packing. This afternoon, in zero degree temperatures, my camera said good-bye to my dear cottage by the lake. Last night we celebrated Christmas lavishly. Each scholar contributed the three elements of…
Vocation: How Do We Listen for a Joyful Calling at Any Age?
Vocation, or calling, gives purpose to life. The questions that help us listen for who we are and what God wants for us are remarkably similar at any age. My young colleague Jess reminded me of this truth this week.
From the Candy Cane Tree in Virginia to the Great Hall Tree in Minnesota
Once upon a time, a family set out in search of a tree. They had never heard of a Candy Cane Tree before. After finding the Candy Canes, they searched for a tree they could take home. Thanks, Ostlund Christmas Tree Farm, for a great adventure. When Grandma returned to Minnesota, she got to…
Waiting: As the Children Journey Home
Tonight in the quiet, I wait for children and grandchildren. I imagine God to be waiting for us also.
Hope and Perseverance in Post-Election America
It’s been harder than usual to focus on words this past week. As I searched for words, I also walked, reviewing and reflecting upon the sights and sounds in my world since the election. Sights Sounds For several weeks, I have looked forward to seeing Krista Tippett and Courtney Martin again, two friends I…
Beside the Still Waters and The Liturgy of the Hours
The still waters of Psalm 23 remind me of what Wendell Berry calls “the peace of wild things” on this morning after the election. So does the stable practice of the Benedictine Liturgy of the Hours and my own tradition of radical dissent from the powers and principalities. Singing and walking help too.
Rethinking Middle Age in Community and Envisioning Older Age as Ascent
Yesterday fall sunshine suffused our conference room at the Collegeville Institute. I was “on deck” as the first scholar to present my findings and receive feedback on my project: Jubilación: Vocation in the Third Act of Life. Having colleagues, a community of scholars who challenge and encourage you, is a gift at any stage in…
Waking Up to the News In Lake Wobegon and What I’m Learning About Op-Eds: the Backstory
Today is Hillary Clinton’s 69th birthday. I’ve been thinking about writing a letter to her ever since last February when I visited the Sir Edmund Hillary Museum in New Zealand. I tell the backstory of how I published an Op-Ed about her birthday in the Minneapolis StarTribune.