Fully Alive in God

(An image of the Annunciation in Nazareth, given by the church of the Philippines) M. Campbell-Langdell All Santos, Oxnard (Jeremiah 2:4-13; Ps. 81:1, 10-16; Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16; Luke 14:1, 7-14) Play song: “Children, I’m gonna do what the Spirit say do, Children, do … I’m gonna do what the Spirit say do, Children, do … I’m gonna do what the Spirit say, do my Lord, And Oh May the Spirit of the Lord Do what the Spirit say!...” Sweet Honey in the Rock, “Do What the Spirit Say Do” It is good to be home! I thank this congregation for the gift you gave my family and me in our time of sabbatical. I missed you all and it was a time of spiritual and personal growth for which I will be ever grateful. If you followed my blog while I was gone, you know that I was blessed to travel to many locales in a pilgrimage time this summer. And there is nothing like traveling. It opens up your horizons, especially religious travel. You feel as if your relationship with God is s

(Una imagen de la Anunciacion en Nazaret, dado por las Filipinas) M. Campbell-Langdell All Santos, Oxnard (Jeremias 2:4-13; S. 81:1, 10-16; Hebreos 13:1-8, 15-16; Lucas 14:1, 7-14) (Toca un poco de “Do What the Spirit Say Do” por Sweet Honey in the Rock) ¡Es bueno estar en casa! Agradezco a esta congregación por el regalo que nos dieron a mi familia y a mí en nuestro tiempo sabático. Los extrañé a todos y fue un momento de crecimiento espiritual y personal por el cual estaré siempre agradecido. Si siguieron mi blog mientras estaba fuera, saben que tuve la suerte de viajar a muchos lugares en un tiempo de peregrinación este verano. Y no hay nada como viajar. Abre tus horizontes, especialmente los viajes religiosos. Sientes que tu relación con Dios se fortalece al aprender literalmente a caminar con Dios nuevamente. Porque así es como se sintió este viaje. Tuve que volver a aprender a confiar en Dios en cada paso del camino. Porque al igual que Alene y yo planeamos este

( https://arizonaoddities.com/2014/06/ how-often-does-a-century-plant-bloom/ ) Re-entry I close this sabbatical time with so much gratitude in my heart for this time spent in travel and reflection. This past week I was blessed with a six day retreat at Mount Calvary Monastery in Santa Barbara. It is a bittersweet time there because the Order of the Holy Cross has deemed that they cannot continue ministry in that spot past Mid 2021 (so we still have time to visit). However I took inspiration from the century plant that was blooming outside the dining room. You see, they bloom at the end of their life, and this plant was covered in bees. Bees that were pollinating all around the area, spreading life. In every ending there is a new beginning. And in this small ending of my sabbatical time, I am seeing so much promise of new life. I spent part of the retreat time planning for the next three months of ministry using Margaret Marcuson's "Breathing Room" program (check her

Matthew 12:46-50  (NRSV) While he was still speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers were standing outside, wanting to speak to him.   Someone told him, “Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.”   But to the one who had told him this, Jesus replied, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?”   And pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers!   For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” (Image attribution:  https://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/ 2014/12/the-location-of-stoning-of-st-stephen.html ) Yesterday Alene told me a story while we were traveling to a concert together (first concert attended together in years - it was so exciting!) She told me about a story that had stuck with her from her time at Voice of the Martyrs, about the rebirth of the church in China. It seems that at the time when the communist rule was established in China, there was a Chri

Holy Isles and Home Again Returning home is always a process. It happens physically even as it happens in the soul. On our travels back from the Holy Land, we touched on two lands of "home" before finally arriving home. We traveled to the UK, first visiting Edinburgh (and indulging in a bit of Harry Potter fandom, visiting the street that inspired Diagon Alley). We then traveled to Berwick-upon-Tweed, a seaside town on a river in Northern England, and from which we ventured out to Holy Island. Holy Island (also known as Lindisfarne) is accessible only at certain times of the day, and other times the tide encloses it. It was here that St. Cuthbert and St. Aidan set up a monastery that would not only eventually give us the Lindisfarne Gospels but would also be an important center for Celtic Spirituality. As I traveled there, I read the book Listening to the Heartbeat of God  by J. Phillip Newell and was inspired to re-connect with a sense of the presence of God