Singing in Prison

By Ephraim Radner We all have strong views about hymns. My standard is whether they can be remembered in prison, be sung aloud, and have a practical immediacy capable of encouraging those in the cell next do... Read More...

A New Grace for Meals

By John Mason Lock Our family devotions include a practice that we’ve been using for almost a decade. In sharing it here, I do not mean to imply that it should be universal. Among its other qualities, surely... Read More...

He Shall Give His Angels Charge Over You

By Daniel Martins All three of my children are alums of Sewanee: The University of the South. There’s a pious tradition on that “holy mountain” of tapping the roof of one’s vehicle upon exiting the gates of the domain to summon a guardian angel for protecti... Read More...

Psalm 88: At God’s Mercy

By Justin S. Holcomb Psalm 88 is an individual psalm of lament by someone so overwhelmed with troubles (v. 3) that he is abandoned by his friends and feels abandoned by God. This psalm is a song of distress ... Read More...

The Mirror of the Psalms

By Bryan Owen Every once in a while, we hear words from a psalm in our corporate worship that trouble or shock us. It’s pretty rare that this happens in the eucharistic lectionary appointed for Sundays. But ... Read More...

Privilege, Prayer, & Perspective – At Gunpoint

By Peter M. Antoci At 5:50 a.m. on Memorial Day, I was still asleep in my bed, blissfully unaware that the day had already begun. I was unaware that the sun was up, that the birds were chirping, and that three armed, African-American teenagers were shelteri... Read More...

Wait for It: Praying the Psalms in Community

The irony for the officiant is that the only way to promote harmony among the various voices at prayer is to focus on their own. The role of the officiant is to pray through the chaos so the chaos can eventually find order through the prayers. The officiant must be attentive to all who are praying, but not at the expense of their own prayers.