Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Shameless Self Promotion: Christmas in the UK Edition

Want proof that the internet has made the world a whole lot smaller?

About a month ago, I got a Facebook message from Richard Corrie, the Faith Producer for BBC Radio Cumbria (Cumbria is in Northern England. Yeah, I had to Google it, too), asking if he could use some material I wrote for their Christmas Eve broadcast.

They used some monologues that I wrote for a chapel service a number of years ago at Vanderbilt Divinity School, imagining what it would be like for Mary, Joseph and one of the shepherds, respectively, to tell about their experience of the Nativity story.

I published these monologues on Ministry Matters a couple years ago, along with some thoughts on how churches could produce their own such material, in an article called The Christmas Story in First Person. (The folks at the BBC only used Mary and Joseph. The Shepherd was my personal favorite, but oh well.)

If you're so inclined, you can go to the BBC's website to listen to the Christmas Eve Service from St. Andrew's Church in Penrith. The service is an hour long and the whole thing is worth the listen, but if you just want to hear the monologues, Mary starts at 18:57, and Joseph at 32:50.

I hope everyone had a blessed and peaceful Christmas, however you chose to spend it. Thanks for reading, and as always, any feedback is greatly appreciated.

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Thomas Merton Day

72 years ago today Thomas Merton entered the Abbey of Gethsemani

45 years ago today he entered the church triumphant after being accidentally electrocuted at a conference in Bangkok

While not officially recognized by any denomination, he is a saint for writers, people who consistently wrestle with their calling, and to all those who crave honesty and authenticity in their spiritual quest

Happy Thomas Merton Day to all

(Icon by William Hart McNichols)