Where Heart and Mind Meet

Lent: A Season to Lengthen and Stretch

Shannon Michael Pater — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 14:24:52 +0000

We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience. ~Pierre Teilhard de Chardin The same faux pas is likely to be committed today: someone offering to be helpful will gently suggest that you have something on your forehead. Restaurants will be offering Friday fish specials and fast …

Empower Me

Shannon Michael Pater — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 13:52:19 +0000

Empower me to be a bold participant, rather than a timid saint in waiting, in the difficult ordinariness of now; to exercise the authority of honesty, rather than to defer to power, or deceive to get it; to influence someone for justice, rather than impress anyone for gain; and, by grace, to find treasures of …

Sermon Revisited: The Tyranny of the Normal

Shannon Michael Pater — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 13:16:38 +0000

Being a “chocoholic,” I’m “nourished” by the celebration of Valentine’s Day; well, sort of. In truth, I find the holiday a little problematic. The day isn’t even a proper “holy day” any longer. While the origins are a little muddled, Saint Valentine’s Day was set in 496 to honor an early Christian martyr; however, it …

Sermon Revisited: Sacred Memory and Hopeful Imagination

Shannon Michael Pater — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:36:31 +0000

The pericope from the Hebrew Scriptures (Isaiah 40:21-31) yesterday (Sun 5 Feb) is a powerful piece of painful pathos; it is a selection of prophetic poetry. There is such a misconception about the role of “prophecy” that it bears repeating: biblical prophecy is not about predicting the future; its function is to call the wayward …

Sermon Revisited: Quietly Follow

Shannon Michael Pater — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 21:21:43 +0000

On this date (23 January), in 1849, Elizabeth Blackwell became the first woman to graduate from a medical school in the United States. Born in Bristol, England, in 1821, she and her family moved to New York and then to Ohio in 1832. The Blackwells were active Quakers and supported the anti-slavery movement and the …

Keeping the Dream Alive

Shannon Michael Pater — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 14:57:10 +0000

The following are quotes from The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. At the bottom of the post is a link to view and hear his “I Have a Dream” speech. Additionally, to find a service project in your area, visit: http://mlkday.gov/ Dr. King’s words are as prophetic as ever. Prophets do not foretell the …

Wise Ones Still Make Journeys

Shannon Michael Pater — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 19:23:57 +0000

When the song of the angels is stilled, when the star in the sky is gone, when the sages and the shepherds have found their way home, the work of Christmas is begun: to find the lost and the lonely one, to heal the broken soul with love, to feed the hungry children with warmth …

Give Me a Rhyme for Hope

Shannon Michael Pater — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 10:00:56 +0000

In our household, the approach of Christmas (well before Advent) is signaled by a predictable grumbling chanted by my usually optimistic husband Peter. It erupts with the first Christmas catalog in the mail or ad on TV – not just because both are too early, but because they represent the retail frenzy that will load …

An Advent Letter

Shannon Michael Pater — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 10:30:53 +0000

On June 16, 2009 I lost my mother, Emma Pauline Spearman, (she was known to everyone as Pauline). Five months later on November 28, 2009 my father Corda Lester Spearman passed away. Everyone called him “Cordie.” Of course, to me they were ‘Mother’ and ‘Daddy’. Dear Mom and Dad, It’s hard to believe that …

An Advent Poem: On the Road to Bethlehem

Shannon Michael Pater — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 18:23:37 +0000

Commentary: When Michael asked me to write something about Advent, I had to ponder the task a bit. I was raised a Southern Baptist, and Advent was not part of our Christmas preparation. (Well, of course it was part of it, but the word was not mentioned.) I decided to write from the point of …