Author archive
Susan Classen CoL
Steps. For many years, my concern about the steps leading into the cabins was primarily about their safety after a winter storm or their ongoing need for repair due to squirrel damage.
The Beatitudes offer words of comfort. It’s reassuring to know that God is with us in our grief and that suffering won’t have the last word. But what if Jesus…
It’s Friday, Feb. 21, and I find myself in the Arizona desert standing in a circle of about 100 people listening to Apache leader Wendsler Nosie Sr. “We’re doing this…
By Susan Classen CoL and JoAnn Gates CoL Fallow time. Wintering. Call it what you will, only one out of every 10 living in the U.S. call the winter months…
Our readings this morning both challenge and reassure us. We’re challenged to cooperate with change and reassured that God is with us calling forth life. The Gospel of Matthew was…
Headlines about a 1984 seminal study linking human health to nature declared, “View through a window may influence recovery from surgery.” That early study found that hospital patients with a…
Abraham Lincoln once said, “The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time.” If the days of the week of Feb. 10-17 are any…
These words from Wendell Berry call to me this Epiphany Sunday: “And we pray, notfor new earth or heaven, but to bequiet in heart, and in eye,clear. What we need…
On May 4 around 8:15 p.m., a narrow band of straight-line wind tore through Cedars of Peace with tornado-like force. Heeding the last-minute tornado warning, JoAnn Gates and I were…
“And.” A…N…D… That’s the most important word to remember from my reflections this evening. With God, what looks like an ending is always followed by “and.” We see that truth…
As I reflected on Jesus’ use of parables, I was reminded of an experience soon after I arrived to live and work in El Salvador. Felipa, a Poor Claire novice,…
Disruption. That’s the word that came to me as I reflected on our readings. A disruption is a break or interruption in the normal course of events. On a personal…
