Angel Watching Over Me!

After Joan got her diagnosis I made a point of trying to see her in person every few weeks. (My first husband and I got pretty good at keeping ourselves awake and entertained on the New Jersey Turnpike. Sometimes the drive from Connecticut to Washington DC seemed endless.) On one of these many visits I…

Calling the circle — redux

Having a gym membership doesn’t make you fit.Going to a garage doesn’t make you a car.Attending church doesn’t make you religious. For many people, religion is a significant aspect of their identity, representing the group with which they feel kinship and the people with whom they spend time. Religion can provide a path that helps us…

Before Cloistering, Immersion

Before “social distancing” and “flattening the curve” became commonplace terms… Before closings and cancellations… Before the hoarding of toilet tissue, hand sanitizer, and water bottles… We had one last hurrah. You never know when the last time will be last, until you look back. It seems much longer than less than two weeks ago… To…

Trick or treat?

While we would like to pretend otherwise, death will come to all. Día de los Muertos, Day of the Dead, originated in Mexico. The festivities honor those who have gone before and marks life’s end as an occasion for hope and cheer. Celebrated annually from 31 October to 2 November, the holiday corresponds to Halloween,…

Give them heaven

After I heard a presentation by Abigail Disney [yes, a member of that Disney family], I watched a documentary she produced. Pray the Devil Back to Hell tells the story of Christian and Muslim women of Liberia who collaborated across faith traditions to pray and protest. They obtained a meeting with Charles Taylor, a warlord who was elected President of…