September, 2025 Beloved, None of us got where we are solely by pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps. We got here because somebody – a parent, a teacher, an Ivy League crony or a few nuns – bent down and helped us pick up our boots.” I recently quoted this statement from Thurgood Marshall when […]

Beloved, It’s a special month for you and me because August 2025 marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. I have said it many times that there is no way you and I could have come together to break bread, like we enjoy it today, 80 years ago when we were […]

Beloved, Come as you are; you can change inside. I hope you have noticed our church sign by now, after it has been there for a few years. Fr. Roger and Beau used to change the message regularly, but I have been too lazy to change it. I prayed for a church-sign fairy to appear […]

Beloved, May was a busy month of transition. As Mrs. Erin called each child by their name at the graduation, the student walked up to the front, gave the teacher a big hug, received a beautiful, handmade prayer blanket —a symbol of God’s love, and stood still by themselves in front of everyone with a […]

Beloved, Beloved, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to each one of you who dedicated your time and energy to enrich this year’s Lent, Holy Week, and Easter. Your active participation in various ministries, programs, gatherings, and engaging discussions has genuinely made a difference in our faith community. I am deeply grateful for your […]

Beloved, Faith is personal but not private. Bishop Greg Rickel of then Olympia empathized with this teaching many years ago. The statement triggered my knee-jerk reaction whenever I heard it, as I used to keep everything to myself. My faith was definitely kept private, if not more than anything else, because, one, I did not […]

Beloved, “Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them.” It is from Matthew 6, which we read annually on Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. I find reading this passage awkward every year because I go out publicly with the cross on my forehead, smeared in ashes made from […]

Beloved, My friend recently told me this quote: “No one talks about how hard spiritual growth and dying to ourselves is. It’s not a one-time thing; it’s every day. It’s remaining quiet when we want to speak. It’s trusting God’s timing when we would rather control. It’s doing it God’s way when it doesn’t make […]

Beloved,  I have been tidying up my office since December. Thanks to George, my ordination certificates and the seminary diploma were finally on the wall after sitting on the floor at home for ten years. A new collection of social work-related books must find its home on my bookshelves, meaning I am parting with some […]