Today is Ash Wednesday on the Christian liturgical calendar. That meant practically nothing in my decidedly sheltered southern Appalachian context. It never even dawned on our conservative Pentecostal churches to pay any attention whatsoever to that sort of thing. We were, after all, filled with the Spirit and ostensibly experiencing His presence every day, full … Continue reading The Power of the Smudge
Month: February 2020
The Comfort of the Staff
In the 1997 film Titanic, there is a scene near the climax depicting a trapped Irish mother comforting her children and tucking them into bed for the last time as the flood waters rose around them. In a nearby cabin a similarly trapped elderly gentleman embraces his beloved, cuddled in their bed for what would … Continue reading The Comfort of the Staff