The Journal
Reflections on Faith, Grief, History, and the Sacred in Ordinary Life
Every reflection begins with a question.
Sometimes that question comes from Scripture.
Sometimes from grief.
Sometimes from history.
Sometimes from the ordinary moments of everyday life.
These reflections are offered in the hope that together we may discover God’s presence, deepen our faith, and learn from those who have gone before us.
Welcome. I’m glad you’re here.
Latest Reflections
Recent essays on faith, grief, history, and discovering the sacred in ordinary life.
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When a Beloved Icon Dies
Why can the death of someone we never met leave us devastated? Dolly Parton’s death reminds us that public grief is real—and perhaps asks something more of us: How can we be more Dolly?
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The Road Before Us
There is something about driftwood that seems appropriate for a threshold moment. Driftwood has been carried by currents it did not choose. It has been battered by waves and pushed toward shores it never intended to visit. The journey leaves marks, and the wood does not emerge unchanged. Yet those marks do not make it…
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Rediscovering Samuel West, Part Three: A Minister of God, in the Camp
Samuel West went to the American army after Bunker Hill, or so the familiar story goes. But a newly examined manuscript, an eyewitness letter from Roxbury, and West’s own words to George Washington reveal a more complicated story about what he was actually doing in the camps during the summer of 1775.
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The Conversation Continues
Seven Sundays ago, I thought I was waiting for something to begin. Now, as I cross the threshold into a new ministry, I wonder whether the waiting was itself a beginning, teaching me to listen more deeply and ask what love requires of us now.
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When the Horn Sounds
From my table, I can hear boats sounding their horns across the water—reminders that even peaceful seas can become dangerous. This week, that familiar sound led me back to a familiar Gospel story and to eleven disciples whose quiet faithfulness I had overlooked.
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Fear Sees Strangers
The garden teaches us to see. The table teaches us to love. And sometimes the miracle begins when someone pulls out a chair and says, “There is a place for you here.”
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Part Two: A Google Search
Every research project has an origin story. Mine began with a simple Google search for a Revolutionary-era sermon. I expected to find confirmation for what I already believed. Instead, Samuel West challenged me to rethink not only the American Revolution, but the way I read history itself.
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Before the Verdict: Understanding the Holy Commonwealth
Before we decide what to think about the Puritans, we should first understand what they believed they were trying to build. This opening essay invites readers to set aside modern assumptions and enter the world of seventeenth-century Massachusetts on its own terms, where covenant, community, and faith shaped every aspect of public life.
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Making Room for New Life
What if the question is not how to attract new life, but whether we have made room for it to grow? A stubborn patch of knotweed, a few unexpected shoots, and Jesus’ parables of the Kingdom invite us to consider what love requires of us now.