A few years ago, I sat down with the director of a $1M+ nonprofit and asked what she ate in a day. As her health coach, I waited—pen in hand—to take notes.
“Well, I usually have black coffee while I answer emails at 6 AM,” she said. “I’ll have a peanut butter sandwich at lunch (if I remember to eat). Then I grab dinner out with a friend before more evening meetings until 9 PM.”
One of my favorite verses from the Bible is John 1:14 and I particularly love the way that the Rev. Eugene Peterson translates this verse in The Message: “the Word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood.” The first time I read that translation of this familiar text, I was instantly transported back to being a preschooler at the rapt attention of Mr. Rogers through my grandmother’s television screen. In my mind I began to hear him singing, “It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood!”
A few weeks ago I attended a retreat at a Catholic center along with other clergy women. The moment I stepped into the building my eyes caught a picture frame on the wall with the words: “Be still and know that I am God.” As I read these words in my mind, I let out a deep sigh. I sensed my shoulders drop, and then I inhaled and exhaled one more time. As I went from one room to another, I noticed that the space was filled not only with beautiful images of saints but also every room had a picture frame with the phrase “Be still and know that I am God.”
A few weeks ago I attended a retreat at a Catholic center along with other clergy women. The moment I stepped into the building my eyes caught a picture frame on the wall with the words: “Be still and know that I am God.” As I read these words in my mind, I let out a deep sigh. I sensed my shoulders drop, and then I inhaled and exhaled one more time. As I went from one room to another, I noticed that the space was filled not only with beautiful images of saints but also every room had a picture frame with the phrase “Be still and know that I am God.”
On her final day as our Resident Bishop, Bishop Hope Morgan Ward shared with Bishop LaTrelle Easterling in a conversation about their work together regarding race reconciliation and the Cabinet of Bishop’s Anti-Racism Task Force. Two groups of clergywomen hosted this conversation, Clergywomen of Color and White Women Doing the Work (WWDTW) of Antiracism. The invitation for this conversation was open to all clergy women, and a few men joined us as well.
Bishops Ward and Easterling talked about the relationship they had developed with each other, and the trust they shared.
For several of my childhood years, we had the habit of spending Labor Day underground. School would start the next day and this was the last opportunity for a summer activity. One year, as we were in the middle of a four-hour tour through Mammoth Cave, the guide told us to stop for a break and sit on some large boulders along the trail. Everyone in the group was most grateful and told him so. “Oh no, this isn’t a reward for what you just came through. This rest is to prepare you for what’s ahead.”
