Blogspot - improbableoptimisms.blogspot.com - Rickety Contrivances of Doing Good
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Distractions 21 Jul 2013 | 07:00 pm
Here's today's homily. The readings are here; I'm using Track A. * Many years ago, when I took my Preachers in Training class, I was given the story of Martha and Mary as a homework assignment. I ...
Over the Cliff 23 Jun 2013 | 08:03 am
Here's tomorrow's homily, on the famous story of the Gerasene demoniac. This is denser and more academic than most of my homilies, and I'm worried about whether it will be intelligible to a listening...
Family Stories 29 Apr 2013 | 02:15 am
Here's today's homily. The readings are Acts 11:1-18 and John 13:31-35. * I’ve always loved the story of Peter’s vision. There’s something about that image of the sheet being lowered, full of all ...
No-Brainers 17 Feb 2013 | 07:51 am
Here's tomorrow's homily, for the first Sunday in Lent. I've linked to the Gospel passage below. * My husband and I have just started watching the British science-fiction series Doctor Who. In the e...
Trigger Warnings: Two Stories 20 Dec 2012 | 11:13 pm
Story one: When I was in junior high school, sixth through eighth grades, I got beaten up or teased or mocked every day, or almost every day, or enough days so that every day when I woke up to get re...
Choosing Love 16 Dec 2012 | 08:06 am
Here's my homily for 3 Advent. For obvious reasons, this is a challenging preaching occasion: one on which I find myself, as I've so often been before, infinitely grateful for poetry. The readings a...
Reading at Sundance Bookstore, November 15 19 Oct 2012 | 07:02 am
On Thursday, November 15 at 6:30, I'll be reading from Brief Visits, my new book of sonnets about my ER volunteer work. Here's the official flyer for the event. If you're in Reno, please stop by, an...
Getting Out of the House 14 Oct 2012 | 07:11 pm
Here's this morning's homily, which includes a video clip. I've never shown one before, so I hope it works! The readings are Job 23:1-9, 16-17 and Mark 10:17-31. * I didn’t start going to church u...
Food for the Journey 14 Oct 2012 | 06:48 pm
Here's today's homily. I went with the alternate reading of 1 Kings 19:4-8 because I didn't have the courage to tackle "Absalom, Absalom!" The Gospel is John 6:35, 41-51. * Most of you know that ...
Everything's Better with Lambs 13 May 2012 | 12:46 pm
My weaving and spinning guild meets once a month, in various locations. Today we met at a farm north of Reno, just over the California line, where a woman named Doris raises sheep. She had a twenty-...
