God is still creating you. You are no less beautiful and wild than a sunset or a beach or a puffin. You are loved. You have a place here.

On this St. Patrick’s Day it is fitting to receive a blessing from a grand Irishman whose writing reaches into my soul.

“It is a hope that implores us at an uncompromising core to keep rising up for an Earth more than worth fighting for.”

The words of Amanda Gorman, Poet Laureate, from her moving poem during the inauguration of Joseph Biden and Kamala Harris as President and Vice-President of the United States of America.

Human child of human mother,
see the Christ has come to birth,
demonstrating now in living
every person’s human worth.

And will those feet in modern time,
Walk upon earth’s fair mountains green?

Confronting the crisis facing Christianity, this anthology of post-modern, progressive Christian poems, with a rebellious tone, demythologizes Christian theology. Poems, Piety and Psyche is a brave departure from literal Christian dogma and challenges the outdated ideas of doctrine and Scripture to disclose hidden truths still valid today.

Every so often, I put out a “musing” that is a guide to my writings and videos. It’s that time when churches make plans for their program year, so this is a good moment to share links to my materials for worship, study, and spiritual practice.  Use freely.  All I ask is attribution!

Dina Datsko de Sánchez wrote this new poem for the re-imagined Homecoming Sunday at First Congregational Church, Long Beach.

Philosopher-poet and cancer survivor Mark Nepo opens a new season of freedom and joy—an escape from deadening, asleep-at-the wheel sameness—that is both profound and clarifying.

I weep for a weeping world
beside a creek full of woe
Can there ever be a light for me?
Brighter than the sun used to be.

    Son. Father. Uncle. Friend. Human being. Child of God. What blindness could keep anyone from seeing the sacred life in this man? Bystanders saw it. And cried out that his precious life be spared. Only …

Native is about identity, soul-searching, and the never-ending journey of finding ourselves and finding God. As both a citizen of the Potawatomi Nation and a Christian, Kaitlin Curtice offers a unique perspective on these topics. In this book, she shows how reconnecting with her Potawatomi identity both informs and challenges her faith.

We tune our hearing to silence.
We wait on the source of being.
Our minds release the roar of thoughts.

In his lifetime Jesus taught us
To observe and then reflect
On the laws that nature teaches
If we pause and then inspect,

Mother Earth weeps for her children—
day after day, rain drumming down.
She cleanses herself and cleanses us—

We the creatures of this earth
Raise grateful voices for our birth
Nourished by sustaining care
In us the hopes of others bear

Even during this global pandemic,
a walk around the block
yields moments of healing and beauty.