William Wilberforce Today is William Wilberforce Day. I knew his name, but not his story until I watched the movie, Amazing Grace. This movie tells about John Newton’s life, the former slave boat captain who after he converted to Christianity wrote the lyrics to one of the most favorite hymns of all time, Amazing Grace. But I didn’t know how Newton became Wilberforce’s spiritual director guiding him to serve as God called him to do. The movie is actually the story of William Wilberforce and how he, as a member of Parliament, abolished the stave trade in England. Today is William Wilberforce Day, honoring him on his birthday, but more so, for dedicating his life to doing what is right and serving God. Who was William Wilberforce? Wilberforce was born on August 24, 1759 into a wealthy, high society family in England. He studied at Cambridge where he developed a close friendship with William Pitt, the future prime minister. The slave trade boomed in the 1700’s with as many … [Read more...]

What lessons can we learn from the life and writings of Dorothy Day? For May's Tending the Holy Thursday theme where I delve into a topic or a person of faith for several weeks, we have been exploring Dorothy Day. Today is the third of this series; here are first two: Introduction to the life of Dorothy Day 12 Quotes from Dorothy Day Remember I created a free Reflection Guide for you to download by just clicking the button at the end of this post. I think this guide would be great to copy and keep in your journal for further contemplation. It has several quotes divided by topics, followed by a writing/reflection prompt and questions with space to write.   I hope it blesses your journey with Dorothy. Lessons Learned I have been “walking” and learning from Dorothy Day since 2005 – she has been quite a companion.  As soon as I think I have read everything about her and know what I need to know – a new insight, quote, or reflection pops up. Social Ministry – Just as our … [Read more...]

Dorothy Day Dorothy Day has been my companion for more than 10 years now.  I always learn something from her.  Her social justice beliefs and how she lived every day following the Sermon on the Mount yanks me from my comfort zone and makes me question if I do enough, speak up enough, give enough. She inspires me to seek God and follow him in deeper ways. For May's Tending the Holy Thursday theme where I delve into a topic or a person of faith for several weeks, we are going to look at Dorothy Day. Today I will share some of her background, next week will be rich with her wonderful, challenging quotes to consider, then the last week we can discuss what her life means to us today. I created a free Reflection Guide for you to download by just clicking the button at the end of this post. I think this guide would be great to copy and keep in your journal for further contemplation. It has several quotes divided by topics, followed by a writing/reflection prompts and questions with … [Read more...]

St Patrick St. Patrick lived almost 1500 years ago and has evolved into a person of legend, tales, and green inspiration for all of us, especially on the day we honor him – March 17.    Exploring Celtic Christianity has been the topic for this month's Tending the Holy Thursdays – a fitting subject for March and all the Irish among us. This week we are exploring St Patrick's life and what can he teach us today. God Shapes Us Through Prayer Even When We Can't See Our Path St. Patrick was born in England, possibly Scotland, in the late 4th century and as a teenager was kidnapped by pirates and taken as a slave into Ireland to be a shepherd. He remained in captivity for 6 long years. During this time Patrick converted to Christianity and through prayer became deeply devoted, Some writings attributed to St. Patrick exist today and many scholars think they are authentic; one is called Confessio where St. Patrick writes about his time in prayer: "The love of God and his fear grew in … [Read more...]

Celtic Christianity –St. Brigid Who is St. Brigit? Exploring Celtic Christianity will be the topic for this month's Tending the Holy Thursdays – a fitting subject for March and all the Irish among us. We learned about St. Gobnait last week and you can read about it here. This week St. Brigid is visiting our space here and sharing her story with us: St. Brigid's Story St. Brigid is one of the three patron saints of Ireland and was born around 453 AD. Due to much of her story being written centuries after she lived, it is unknown how much of her life is based on folktale and how much on truth. Either way, her love for the poor and compassion for helping others lives on. Her father was a chieftain named Dubthach, and her mother named Brocessa, a Christian bondswoman, not Dubthach's wife. Of course this new child by another woman doesn't set well with his spouse who persuaded him to send away both Brocessa to Limerick and Brigid into foster care. When she is about 10 years old … [Read more...]

Celtic Christianity  Exploring Celtic Christianity will be the topic for this month's Tending the Holy Thursdays – a fitting subject for March and all the Irish among us.  I am half Scot/Irish, so know there is a little green blood in me. Any other Irish here? With five Thursdays in March, I have an extra day to dive into this interesting piece of Christian history we have. This week I am going to feature someone I never heard of before until about a month ago and thought her story would be worthy to share. Of course we will hear from St Brigid and St Patrick and few other Irish tidbits.  Since I have been traveling I don't have a free item yet for you to download to add to this study, but watch for it coming up in the next few weeks.  UPDATE: Click the button at the end of this post for a free pdf of 10 Celtic Blessings to share with others.  I think you will enjoy it. So "top of the mornin' to ya" – let's study the Celts and see what we can learn from them to nurture our … [Read more...]

The Bishop of Myra was well known for his kindness, generosity and the way he took care of the poor. We honor this man from the third century early in December each year. Who was the Bishop of Myra? You know him as St Nicholas. Myra is a region in what we now call Turkey and in Advent each year, December 6 is remembered as St Nicholas Day. Too often our focus this time of year is buying, wrapping, card sending, decorating, and running crazily all over to parties, concerts and obligations. Pausing at least briefly during Advent helps us refocus on who this season is really about. The world screams What can Santa bring me? while history shows us a caring saint who took extra steps in taking care of the poor. St Nick was a man of God. I told his story in our church’s children’s moment last Sunday and shared one of the legends about him. He is a good lesson for grownups too. Stories about St. Nicholas, the Bishop of Myra Once there was a poor man who had three daughters. … [Read more...]