A Sacred Presence - June 2015

Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Pianos and their Keys

The Reverend Sandy Webb is blogging from General Convention in Salt Lake City. When the amateur musician plucks out a melody line for a hymn in the key of C major, she uses only the piano’s white keys. Lovely melodies can be found in C major, but no one key could ever capture the fullness of our hymnody. I remembered this little bit of music theory on Saturday morning, shortly after the House of Bishops were excused from daily worship to go and elect its new president, the 27th... Read More

Posted by Cara Modisett at Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Saturday, June 27, 2015

Big Tables

The Reverend Sandy Webb is blogging from General Convention in Salt Lake City. "Five to four," the General Convention staff radio crackled in my ear Friday morning. The message was unusual, and I didn’t understand what it meant. Normally, we only discuss pressing, work-related matters over the radio, but someone felt that we all needed to know this information right away. It was the first that I heard about the Supreme Court’s ruling on same-sex marriage. The high court’s decision... Read More

Posted by Cara Modisett at Saturday, June 27, 2015

Friday, June 26, 2015

Moments of Grace

The Reverend Sandy Webb is blogging from General Convention in Salt Lake City. Some days define moments in history. Other days are defined by their moments. Thursday was one of the latter. I went through many drafts of this reflection, wondering what it was that I should share. The General Convention has not been in session long enough to have major legislative news, and our first worship service came off largely as planned. Every day at the General Convention is extraordinary.... Read More

Posted by Cara Modisett at Friday, June 26, 2015

Thursday, June 25, 2015

Altitude

The Reverend Sandy Webb is blogging from General Convention in Salt Lake City. My body does not like altitude. It never has. There’s not nearly enough oxygen here at 4,300 feet, and the air is entirely too dry. My spirit may not miss Memphis’ humidity, but my skin and my nose surely do! In spite of the altitude, I have forced myself to exercise for the last two mornings. On Tuesday, I ran the perimeter of the General Convention complex, and yesterday I ran through its core. With... Read More

Posted by Cara Modisett at Thursday, June 25, 2015

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Building Cathedrals

The Reverend Sandy Webb is blogging from General Convention in Salt Lake City. In ancient times, it could take a century or more to build a cathedral. From the far corners of the globe, the finest artists would be commissioned and the finest materials procured. (The Cathedral Church of St. Peter and St. Paul in Washington, otherwise known as the National Cathedral, went so far as to procure a moon rock for one of their windows!) A great cathedral is more than a house of worship, it is... Read More

Posted by Cara Modisett at Wednesday, June 24, 2015

episcopal #GC78

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

The Girl on the Plane

The Reverend Sandy Webb left yesterday for General Convention and will be blogging from Salt Lake City over the next two weeks. Here’s his first missive, from the air... "We’re on the plaaaaaane!" the girl across the aisle whispered all-too-audibly to her mother. Her voice was filled with that childlike brand of enthusiasm that we grown-ups often hide behind a veil of so-called maturity. This was certainly her first flight, and she was determined to have the full experience, absorbing... Read More

Posted by Cara Modisett at Tuesday, June 23, 2015

episcopal #GC78

Monday, June 22, 2015

Storms in South Carolina

Cara Ellen Modisett Reflection, 5:30 service, Sunday, June 21, 2015 A little over a week ago, I was standing at the edge of the world, on a beach in South Carolina, and the sea was stormy, someplace. Whitecaps were visible as far as the horizon, the waves were noisy and rough, the wind blew sand until it stung and high tide had stretched itself up the shore almost to the foot of the sand dunes. My niece and nephew, five and seven years old, had no fear. They raced through the... Read More

Posted by Cara Modisett at Monday, June 22, 2015