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There are three generations living in my home: my mother, my partner and I, and our teenager and our infant. Conversations over dinner often reveal how much has changed over time. And what has not. One evening, my mother tells my teenager that she is becoming more adept in her usage of Facebook. The teenager…

Communal prayer is a tactile experience for me. In my denominational tradition, African Methodism, we come to a wooden altar at the front of the church, kneel, and pray. In my favorite worship experiences, the “Altar Prayer” portion of the Sunday liturgy takes twenty or thirty minutes. We come to the altar individually or with loved…

I come from people who visit graves. My maternal grandfather died when my mother was an infant. She grew up going to visit her father’s grave. I grew up the same way. Whenever I’m in the general area of the cemetery, I go to visit, now to the graves of my maternal grandmother and my…

I’m writing a four-part Advent Series for the religion website Patheos.com. The first article is out today. The church year begins with a pregnant woman. Christian traditions have called her theotokos. Bearer of God. Mother of God. Most images of the theotokos show Mary in red or blue cloth, halo-ed and cradling a baby Jesus. But that’s not…

On November 18, 2012, I spoke at All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, CA in the Rector’s Forum on “Wrestling with God and Depression.”  I referenced the story in the gospel of Mark where Jesus meets the man named Legion and casts out the and casts demons out of him.  I talk about what I…

I dashed into the small coffee shop to get out of the rain. The sound of the rain echoed around me as I discovered that I had encountered more than a shelter from the weather and more than a place for a latte or espresso. Just behind the coffee beans, pastries, and made-to-order sandwiches was…

“Can your church help out with that? Isn’t this what churches do?” I heard that question on two separate occasions as I planned for the arrival of my firstborn child. Could church members bring me meals for the first week home after surgery? Do any church members have used baby stuff I can borrow or…

“Somewhere between my unanswered prayers and the realization that I could not worship myself into happiness, my faith died. I stopped believing that God only loved me if I was happy and peaceful.” Mental Illness Awareness Week is the first full week in October.  This year, Huffington Post published my article “Losing Faith, Finding Hope:…