This homily was first shared on 12/17/23 at "Theopoetics," an open-mic night hosted by myself and the young adults of First Congregational Church Amherst. Due to the event falling between between Valentines day and Ash Wednesday, I thought I would reflect on death and love during my time as a hospital chaplain. Content warning: this… Continue reading Becoming a Witness to Death: Testimonies of Love
The following is a homily that I shared at a theopoetic open-mic and arts event. You needed to be present at the event to experience the full spirit of the performance as well as the atmosphere of the night, but I still wanted to share this. Below is an audio recording of the homily followed… Continue reading Spinning in the Spirit: a theopoetic meditation on the trinity
“In the beginning God created (poiesis) the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters. And God said…” Genesis 1:1-2 Thus, begins our sacred scriptures, with a divine voice and… Continue reading Chaosmic Echos: Theologizing in God’s Silence
Preface I wrote this paper for a course that I was taking during my second year of my Masters of Divinity and during the first full semester of the Covid-19 Pandemic. When I started my Mdiv, I was still piecing together my Christian identity after leaving a particular form of evangelicalism. During this "deconstruction" as… Continue reading “Fuck you ‘Cause We’re Enough:” Towards a Radical Punk Theology of Liberation
As I look at all the leaves changing around me, and as I feel the cold bite of the air growing sharper, I am reminded of the wonder of our world. We don’t often consider it, but “wonder” is incredibly important to sustaining and empowering the Christian life. Why? Because wonder is how we transform, expand, and renew our… Continue reading On Wonder: a Short Reflection
Today is World Communion Sunday and let me say that Communion is one of my favorite sacraments the Church celebrates. I think there is something so transformative in the simple act of eating together – of eating in common-unity. As Christians, we should pay very close attention to how we eat together. As I was… Continue reading The Politics of the Lunch Room
*inhale - exhale - inhale - sigh* If there is one thing that I became uncomfortably familiar with at the beginning of this Covid-tide, it was my own (sometimes bad) breath! In light of the mask mandates, the rising cases, and the reticent to go out - much less go somewhere inside, I became starkly aware… Continue reading Catching Our Breath
The following was an assignment for a course for which I was asked to analyze a philosopher and a theologian inspired by that philosopher using an alternative writing technique. I chose to analyze Aristotle and Aquinas, but instead of using their methods, I used Augustine's Confessional style. The Confessions was one of the first theology… Continue reading Confessions of Wonder
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uP6tJew5lN4 "Well its 3 AM again, like it always seems to beDrivin' northbound, drivin' homeward, drivin' wind is drivin' meAnd it just seems so funny that I always end up hereWalkin outside in the storm while looking way up past the tree-lineIt's been some time" It truly had been some time since I last turned… Continue reading 3 AM: An Existential Introspection
"Show me your friends, and I will show you your future." In my Church youth group, this phrase was preached to warn teenagers about the company they keep. Although well-intentioned, it encouraged transactional relationships for personal gain while simultaneously urging youth to repress their problems among peers and choose friends based on outward appearances. In… Continue reading Friendship: A Folk-Punk Gospel
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