Tag: church

by jad

#AdventWord 2022: Christine

// Every year for many years, I took part in an Instagram ritual called #AdventWord, first on an old account, then here—every year except the last, when I just couldn’t; the very idea of ritual exhausted me. // A few weeks ago, I checked in with myself to see if anything had changed. Things had. I wanted to mark the season again, but only if I could do it with others. So that’s what I’ll be doing this year; not every day – just when it feels right. I hope it feels right for you too. // Today’s word is WALK. … Continue reading “#AdventWord 2022: Christine” →

by jad

Our Marmite God

There’s a sticky sandwich spread in the United Kingdom called marmite. It’s as dark and goopy as molasses but has a savory flavor that’s so strange and inscrutable that the company that produces it decided decades ago to celebrate its divisive distinctiveness with a slogan that declared: “Marmite—You Either Love It or Hate It.” Brilliant. Why pretend that your yeast extract is just like peanut butter when it’s so demonstrably not? By fully owning your bizarreness, your fans become your best evangelists and you may even generate a healthy margin of profit from the curious seeking something new (even if … Continue reading “Our Marmite God” →

by jad

#AdventWord 2021

It’s November and in a couple of weeks, it’ll be Advent, the countdown to Christmas that for the past five or six years, I’ve marked by participating in #AdventWord in some shape or form. I looked forward to this time and task much as I look forward to the long stretch of autumn rituals and feasts. Last year felt strange, as though Advent had arrived too quickly or something; I wasn’t ready, but I was still inspired. This year feels worse. I thought that maybe I’ll gain motivation by meticulously planning what I want to say; I looked over the word list … Continue reading “#AdventWord 2021” →

by jad

Digital Discipleship

I recently enrolled in a class on digital media and Christian discipleship, and the next post I’ll be making will be part of this week’s assignment: “post a picture that reflects your definition of discipleship on your Instagram account.” “Discipleship” isn’t a term I hear used in the churches I go to or the churches I grew up in; I’m more familiar with the “believer” to “follower” spectrum of terms for that general concept of allegiance to Christ. So I had to figure out what’s different about this word before I could define it for myself. Looking up and talking … Continue reading “Digital Discipleship” →

by jad

So That Nothing May Be Lost

There’s something that happens whenever I read scripture; I find myself looking for God in the gaps—not “the God of the Gaps,” that theological sleight of hand that calls “God” any explanatory rabbit pulled out of every mysterious hat, but rather, the spirit of God’s lessons for us, today, at the margins, in the silences, on the thresholds—in any place we overlook. That these gaps exist is undeniable; so what, if anything, is the Spirit saying to God’s people there? We can ask this question in different ways when reading this Sunday’s gospel text. This event—often called the Feeding of … Continue reading “So That Nothing May Be Lost” →

by jad

And He Was Amazed

The story of Jesus of Nazareth in Nazareth is layered and maybe a little unsettling, but it’s not wholly unrelatable, especially in a city like Seattle; nearly everyone I know here has a complicated relationship with some place they call “back home.”  Years ago, I read a book that summed up the Nazarenes’ reaction to that carpenter kid next door returning all wisened up and doing “deeds of power” with three simple words: “familiarity breeds contempt.” That’s probably the only thing I remember about that book because it seemed to unlock the secrets behind all sorts of mysterious behavior around me–the paradox of being … Continue reading “And He Was Amazed” →

by jad

The Feast of Saint Marinx

“[T]he question of the pharmakon reappears in the digital stage of grammatisation—the first stage of which was the alphabetic writing of Plato’s epoch. Like every technique and every mnemotechnique, cultural and cognitive technologies are pharmaka: at once poisons and remedies.” (Bernard Stiegler) Communication has made itself felt as a matter of concern at numerous times and on multiple planes over the past few weeks. ☿℞ or not, at some point, it seems like the artifice of this act of artfully inscribing interior realities back and forth on these proverbial clay tablets has been lost by our culture. I’ve been thinking about … Continue reading “The Feast of Saint Marinx” →

by jad

Eyes to See

I’ve been reflecting on the days I feel moved to symbolically mark; these aren’t the same every year. I try to stay true to the heart of ritual and only speak to what’s speaking to me in the moment, though guilt is often a sneaky stowaway however I feel. Land Day came and went and I did not move past my inertia. The Gift of Tears by Revolutionary Army of the Infant Jesus But this morning, the plates have shifted and I remember that for all my wokeness, the first time I ever met and befriended transgender people was in … Continue reading “Eyes to See” →

by jad

Essential Service: 20 Weeks of Gratitude, Week 12

Part 1: St. Peter’s It’s been a rough couple of weeks for the world and a strange time to be so invested in the Church. I’m not sure when I’ll have the energy to articulate what I’ve seen and heard and learned and come up against on this side of our global situation. I’m emotionally & spiritually drained. That’s why, this week, I want to articulate my gratitude for the faithful communities now thrown into self-isolation. St. Peter’s is a minimalist building tucked away in a residential street on the edge of the International and Central districts of Seattle. It’s … Continue reading “Essential Service: 20 Weeks of Gratitude, Week 12” →

by jad

Neighborhood Exegesis: Little Saigon/Atlantic, Seattle

I did a quick “walkabout” yesterday, around the peripheries of Little Saigon and Atlantic, down to the edge of Hiawatha Place and back to St. Peter’s Episcopal Parish on S. King St, as part of our parish visioning process this year. I took dozens and dozens of photos, and soaked in the sights, sounds, smells and sensations along the way. I turned corners for the first time; I felt my body tense up and relax as it passed through jarring disparities—my sense of walking in the midst of colliding pressure systems heightened by the gathering storm clouds overheard. I saw … Continue reading “Neighborhood Exegesis: Little Saigon/Atlantic, Seattle” →