There's a profound generosity that kicks in during times of crisis. Our generosity doesn't hold a candle of course to the generosity of people in the rubble who, victims themselves, climb under unsafe pieces of concrete to rescue someone else. The generosity that gives away one's food, even opens one's business so others can get … Continue reading Responding to Haiti

This year, we all agreed to forgo the typical presents for our adult extended family members and instead choose gifts from the World Vision Gift Catalog. We'd given some similar "gifts" previously, but this year there was a special abandon to it, a desire to really make these "thoughtful" gifts for each receiver, a criteria … Continue reading A Little Child Shall Lead Them

I’m so thankful this day that we are pilgrims together on the Jesus Road… My Los Angeles counterpart phoned me to “check in” while he was in Ethiopia. It was 3:00 am there and he was having trouble sleeping while on a Vision Trip with a donor couple. Yet his bleary-eyed story brought into clear … Continue reading Pilgrims Together on the Jesus Road

A couple Saturdays ago I was lamenting my current lack of local, hands-on ministry involvement. So when a musician friend e-mailed a couple hours later to ask if Janet and I would help him lead worship at a street-side memorial service for a homeless man in Santa Ana the following morning, it was hard to … Continue reading Bump on the Road

I slumped onto the pew kneeler at one of my favorite "sanctuaries", old Serra Chapel at Mission San Juan Capistrano. With my heart heavy from family issues, disappointment that swine flu caused me to cancel a trip this week to Palestine, and gnawing memories from a recent trip to Tijuana, I gazed above me at … Continue reading Making All Things New

It was our second day in northern Tanzania, last month. We rumbled down the rural road and pulled off next to a small building in a small nondescript outcropping of civilization. Outside stood a dozen Maasai women waiting for our meeting to start and for the others to arrive. They seemed very energetic and confident, … Continue reading O, For a Brand New Tongue to Sing

Last Wednesday I had surgery to remove a cyst on my vocal cord. Surgery went well, but afterwards I discovered my tongue wasn't working properly. The doctor believes I have a "stunned nerve". No one knows how long it will last, and he says my body will simply fix itself when (if?) it's good and … Continue reading In Good Company

Janet and I took a lovely trip to Richmond, VA last week, mainly to celebrate her "victory lap" in her crisis pregnancy work and to then see the area a bit. On Friday we visited Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's large plantation estate. Jefferson owned 140 slaves, which he inherited and kept. He said that slavery was … Continue reading I Live in a Gated Community

My previous meditation talked about attending Mass some weekday mornings. The desire came from a sense that I was missing the mystery of the liturgy and the Eucharist by attending contemporary churches for the past 30 years. Recently, we've found some type of middle ground attending a lovely Episcopal church near us, where the experience … Continue reading For All Who Are Thirsty

I wrote this in early May, just after the twin disasters of Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar and the earthquake in central China. It seemed right for Good Friday.May the mystery and work of Jesus be fresh for you this Holy Week.CoryA God Who WeepsI just finished attending a weekday morning Mass at the nearby Catholic … Continue reading A God Who Weeps