This long holiday weekend always puts me in mind of the 1996 commercial for an office supply store that was advertising its back-to-school wares. You may remember it too. It featured two kids plodding glumly behind their father who was skipping joyously up the store aisle with a shopping cart as Andy Williams’ infectious song “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” (yes, a Christmas song!) plays in the background….

     This is one of those times in the year when we hear sentences that start with “I can’t believe…” As in, “I can’t believe August is almost over!” or “I can’t believe it’s Labor Day weekend already.” Variations on the theme include questions like “where did the summer go?” and statements about time speeding up as age increases. It happens every year, this turn of the season from summer to fall, but it sneaks up on us just the same….

During the Eucharist, we break bread to share in the body of Christ. Though we are many, we are one body, because we all share in one bread.

This reminds us that we are bound to Christ, to one another, as well as the whole body of the church as we share in this public act of commitment and expression of loyalty to Christ our Lord.

“Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them.” We may not be able to explain where grace resides in this act, but if we could, we would no doubt lose an important part of the journey of exploration which we call faith…

am away on vacation, and in my absence I offer this excerpt from an essay written by Brian Doyle titled “The Most Beautiful Boat.” While a bit longer in length than most of our written meditations, I hope you enjoy it:

He is nine and I am ten. We are brothers. We share a room upstairs. Our beds are six feet apart. His bed is under the window because he likes to look at the shoulders and the fingers of the burly maple trees outside…..

One of the reasons that we feel tired at night is the sheer number of decisions we make during the course of the day. Some of them are not of great consequence (Should I do laundry today or tomorrow?), while others carry more weight (How shall I respond to that request from my colleague or family member? Can I afford to get a new phone?), and others are of the utmost importance (Should I change jobs/career? Should I get married?).

As you may know, Ignatius of Loyola (whose feast day was July 31) developed a set of “Spiritual Exercises” expressly to help people to make tough decisions − especially those that are life-changing, such as entering into marriage or the religious life….

Years ago, before it became a cultural colossus and while it was still playing at the Public Theater, my family and I saw the musical Hamilton. We got there by chance, really. My father had given us theater tickets for Christmas and asked me to pick a show. I didn’t know much about Hamilton at the time, but it seemed to check enough boxes that each Pearson would find at least something that would make the experience enjoyable….

Summer becomes a time to work on ourselves and our ability to be the light and find meaning in our journey, even when it seems uncertain.

In our daily lives, we often find ourselves caught in a whirlwind of tasks and responsibilities. Work, family, social commitments, and even church activities can fill our schedules. We become so engrossed in our duties that we forget to pause, to breathe, to rest. Yet. In the midst of our busyness, we see Jesus inviting His disciples to a quiet place to rest. This is not a mere suggestion but a clear instruction from our Savior.

Jesus understood the importance of rest. He knew that His disciples, after their rigorous ministry, needed time to rejuvenate….

I am on the mailing list for the Society of St. John the Evangelist, the monastic order located in Cambridge, MA. The theme of their most recent newsletter was “Growth,” and included articles titled “Awake,” “Patience,” “Know Limits,” “Anxiety,” “The Breaks,” and “On the Hard Road.” The final page if the newsletter offered some loosely connected reflection questions. Depending on how the pieces of your life are aligning just now, the rhythm of life may slow down a bit during the summer months. Maybe there is just a bit more time and space to reflect….

With both the Pride and Independence Day celebrations in late June and early July, it can be easy to overlook some of those whom we commemorate in the church during this time. For example, on July 1, we remember two remarkable people: Harriet Beecher Stowe and Pauli Murray. The Rev. Dr. Murray is by far less well-known but also had an outsized impact on both society and the church. During her long and varied career she was a lawyer, a writer and poet, a civil rights activist, a professor, and eventually, an Episcopal priest. On January 8, 1977, Murray was ordained the first African American woman priest at the Washington National Cathedral….