By Grace G. Hackney

• Dancing Lessons by Grace G. Hackney (7/8/2015)
  Seventh Sunday after Pentecost 2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19 Psalm 24 Ephesians 1:3-14 Mark 6:14-29 As I write, Daniels and Danielles, along with their sisters, brothers, fathers, mothers, grandparents and great-grands in the faith are on their way to Babylon – oh, I mean Chicago. A great family reunion will take place, new friends will be made, and those unable to be physically present will be there through the power of the Spirit and the airwaves of technology. We pray that into the ...
• Creatures Who Eat by Grace G. Hackney (4/15/2015)
  Third Sunday of Easter Luke 24:35-48 “When the risen Christ eats with the disciples it is not just a way of proving that he is ‘really’ there, it is a way of saying that what Jesus did in creating a new community during his earthly life, he is doing now in his risen life.” (Rowan Williams, Being Christian, pg. 45.) Reading this passage from the former Archbishop’s pen made me want to say “Amen, and.” And, what Jesus has done and is doing and will do began when the world was created. God created us as creatures who eat. I have been spending a lot of time thinking about how Christians eat. After twelve years in local rural churches (and more potlucks and Harvest Festivals...
• Turning the Soil by Grace G. Hackney (2/24/2015)
  Second Sunday of Lent Mark 8:31-38 ‘Tis a gift to be simple, ‘tis is a gift to be free, ‘tis a gift to come down where we ought to be. And when we find ourselves In the place just right, ‘twill be in the valley of love and delight. When true simplicity is gain’d to bow and to bend we shan’t be ashamed. To turn, turn will be our delight Till by turning, turning, we come ‘round right. --Shaker Hymn Knees bent, ashes smudged on foreheads, letting go and taking up – the work of Lent is no less messy yet necessary than the work of a farmer in early spring, muck boots stuck in the mire of a melted grey snow, calloused hands reaching low to pull aside the mulch that blankete...