• displacement
    Belonging,  Displacement

    Displacement and Disgrace: The Christmas Story

    December has typically represented displacement for me in the last few years. This Christmas will mark the first Christmas that I have not moved in four years. It will mark the first Christmas without any of my kids. I am not complaining, mind you. I do not wish to be the poster woman for the First World Problems meme. But for someone who just learned how to do Christmas well, to enjoy the holiday with family, it feels like a loss. The reasons are somewhat complicated, involving jobs and relocations and sometimes impossible working situations. But the fact remains that I will not be pulling out much, if any, décor…

  • Communion,  Featured,  Imaginative Prayer,  Presence

    You Are What You Eat: Communion Reimagined

    While in Jerusalem some years ago, we visited the Upper Room.  It had long since been turned into a small chapel, and as we sat on the wooden pews, a tour guide took us through the story of Jesus’ communion with the disciples.  Afterwards, one of the students I was with asked about the authenticity of this site as the actual location of the Upper Room.  The tour guide smiled and then told us about the six other Upper Rooms in the vicinity.  Apparently, an ambitious tourist could go around and partake of the sacrament in seven Upper Rooms in an afternoon. Honestly, if I had the time, I might…