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Good ol’ Hamlet sure has a way with words.  The soliloquys are great, of course, but he also knows how to use language just for amusement.  His very first lines in the play are sheer fooling around:  When the usurper King has the gall to address him as “my son,” Hamlet says, under his breath, “A little more than kin and less than kind.” (I.i.64-65) And then the same calculating Claudius, feigning concern, asks, “How is it that the clouds … Read More

There’s one sure thing about New Year’s Day:  those of us who are attached to schools know we’re about to go back.  This particular January, I am fortunate to be embarking upon Hamlet with my seniors in a place bearing the motto: “Think, Care, and Act.” In these times, we could all use a little more of that triumvirate.  The order of the words is no accident, either.  Unless you happen to be suffering from severe melancholy like the Prince … Read More

For the first time in many years – almost since we’ve been married – my husband won’t be preaching at Christmas Eve services this evening.  He also won’t be a shepherd in any children’s pageant.  (In a funny accompaniment, he found that his daily horoscope says:  “Celebrate, but make it a point to get to bed early.”) Tomorrow morning he will preside at a service in Concord, this time as a bishop of course, so things will get back to … Read More

I just heard on the radio that, while the Republicans and Democrats duke it out in these days before the impending fall over the Fiscal Cliff, Corporate America is “clamoring for compromise.”  Oh, good ol’ Corporate America! Not being one who feels in a position to help with this particular national problem, I’m nonetheless doing a little clamoring for compromise of my own these days. It’s kind of private, actually, since it involves one part of me debating with another part … Read More

Have you ever gone to church in a building that also houses tennis courts?  Or, to turn the question around, have you ever played tennis in a building created to be a church? I’m doing this now, and it has me a little jumbled up. Ever since becoming a pastor’s wife more than twenty years ago, I’ve grown accustomed to seeing the world of church and the world of sports as separate realms.  A big part of my job, I learned, … Read More

Last Sunday, not long after slipping into a pew in Peterborough, I watched my husband prepare communion – as I have on many previous Sundays.  This time, however, my ears pricked up as he said, hands held high with host, a Bible verse that I don’t think I’d ever heard during this part of the service:  “…let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. “  (Hebrews 12:1-2) This got my attention for a few reasons.  First, … Read More

Mother Nature apparently shares my interest in things colliding, because, as I write, we’re about to get walloped with Hurricane Sandy from the South Meets Winter Storm from the West Meets Arctic Chill from the North.   Maybe, by the time you read this, it’ll all be over, however it was.  And you probably think I’m crazy for writing anything at the moment.  But I’m safe inside with my dog at my side, and my various family members are all — … Read More

Years ago, when a classmate of mine at Bread Loaf was trying to explain his reason for not having a paper ready, he said something to the professor like “The air traffic controllers’ strike really bums me out.”  I wish I had as creative an excuse; mine has more to do with the mundanity of getting in grades, prepping a house for a showing, and taking a son on a road trip.  Just the usual, really. But amidst it all … Read More

So I’m guessing that if Jesus did in fact have a wife, she would have had to do a lot of moving around; so much, in fact, that she probably was late with a blog entry once in a while, too. OK, so she probably didn’t have quite as much stuff to pack up each time as we do now, what with Jesus always reminding his followers to leave their bags and just bring a staff.  (Funny how I don’t … Read More