Article s About This Journey Of Life
The Space Between Progressive and Evangelical ~ Is There Anyone Out There?
The other day I heard an aspiring clergy person argue that mainline progressive churches are doing our earth stewardship just fine, that it’s the evangelical conservative churches who are the stumbling blocks to the care of the earth. This budding young church leader is not alone. Among people in progressive churches I hear often that…
Read MoreThe Space Between . . . The Book in One Page
Ahah! I’ve been trying for months to write a one-page description of my current thinking, based on my still new book The Space Between Church & Not-Church ~ A Sacramental Vision for the Healing of Our Planet. Here it is. Statement of the Problem ~ a Twofold Description There are two reasons why we’re not…
Read MoreEco-spirituality, Episcopal Bishops, and Me
Two things of particular significance pop out with the bishops’ letter, and I am sure I will find more. One, the Bishops of the Episcopal Church have issued a call to repentance for the way in which the human species has engaged the earth community of which it is a part. To recognize that we…
Read MoreEco-spirituality ~ From the Bishops of the Episcopal Church
This powerful letter is cause for celebration. I have posted it here in its entirety, without comment. In a separate post, I am offering a brief reflection and assigning that to several categories. As you know – at least those of you who are following my commitment of discovery of “what it means to inhabit…
Read MorePicking up Trash = Worship?
Meaning emerges from an experience, over time and in many layers. It’s why our stories are so important. We go back to them again and again, deepening the meaning and import. The story that follows is one whose significance continues to evolve. Although the predominant relationship in this story is human to human, by touching…
Read MoreGoodnight Irene
This morning I listened to Tom Ashbrook’s On Point, and the topic under consideration was whether or not the media was appropriate or inappropriate with regard to Hurricane Irene. “How does society find the right balance of safety and media hype in an age of extreme weather?” It was a good guest line-up, with Heidi…
Read MoreWhat Is Missing ~ Maya Lin
Many of us are intimately familiar with Maya Lin’s Vietnam War Memorial. Before I ever lived in the Washington D.C. area, I visited my friend Elizabeth who dropped me off at the entrance to the memorial and pointed me in the right direction. It was not until what Lin refers to as “the pages of…
Read MoreEco-spirituality ~ The Language of the Space Between
Say the word God – try it – and what comes to mind? I imagine that the word will conjure up as many images, ideas, beliefs, doctrines, even ideologies as there are people doing the conjuring. It should come as no surprise that God conversations tend to be fraught with danger in both our public…
Read MoreEco-sense
Some good ideas are simple and transparent. This article “found me” the other day, and I am posting it pretty much in its entirety, giving credit to Maria Popova for the original story. I have kept the links intact to make for easy back-and-forth. I live in a small New England village and am intrigued…
Read MoreRestoring the Waters Puppet Theater ~ Meet the Bucket Heads
My husband and partner Jim Sims and I have been working toward the first production of Restoring the Waters Puppet Theater. I suspect many of you know how it is when you have a plan and life kind of gets in the way. We now have three big puppets: the swan, whose image is on…
Read MoreBiocentric Living in the Space Between
(With gratitude to Rex Nelson for his image) This universe is sacred no matter how we name it, no matter how we celebrate and honor it ritually, no matter the meaning many people ascribe to it, both those who speak about environmental responsibility and those who understand the planet as that which can be exploited…
Read MoreMade of Water (And Stardust and Carbon)
It’s a privilege to introduce you to some people doing wonderful work at Climate of our Future, for whom the blog post below was written. In their own words, “Climate of Our Future is a blog meant to open a discussion of global climate change by providing articles, resources and opinions that provoke our readers…
Read MoreTrapeze Transition
This post is an excerpt from my newest book, The Space Between Church & Not-Church ~ A Sacramental Vision for the Healing of our Planet. You can find it as a page as well, under Excerpts. You will also be able to find it under a different title, “the space between . . . on…
Read MoreElephant Madness
I’d had an idea in mind as I framed this post as a guest blogger for The Big Green Purse, and – as I usually do – I held it against the tapestry of posts already on the Big Green Purse site. When I saw the image of the slain elephant, my own approach vanished.…
Read MoreThe Green Divas
I had no idea what to expect! A radio interview with the Green Divas, who, by their own description, “offer listeners information on green or sustainable living from a guilt-free, low-stress perspective making information accessible to a broad audience using credible information, humor and technology,” sounded like the promise of a great adventure. When Green Diva…
Read MoreFraming the Questions
Wendell Berry, whom I have never met but would like to, has taught me something of significant value: the question I have used to introduce this website is the wrong question. I am aware of the short-sightedness of the question, and yet I leave it on the site, as a reminder that sometimes the wrong…
Read MoreAlmaty, Kazakhstan as Ecotone by Debbie Gegenheimer
(I am pleased and grateful to introduce Debbie Gegenheimer as a guest blogger for this site.) As I consider Caroline Fairless’ concept of “space between,” I am drawn to the experience of being with my family in Almaty, Kazakhstan soon after it became an independent country. In 1996, we moved literally across the world from…
Read MoreGreen in Spirit ~ Green in Action
The intentionality with which I am learning to offer my eco-spiritual writings into the world has been a stretch for me, and a steep learning curve. Many “green” websites and organizations are providing their services as resource centers for projects of all kinds – recycling, urban farming, green housing, organic clothing – the list is…
Read MoreYellow Bird
(I am grateful to Rex Nelson for his beautiful photograph of a yellow warbler.) I am publishing this written piece in three places: one, as an excerpt under Caroline’s Books ~The Space Between Church & Not-Church; the others, as a blog post under the categories of God Talk (optional), and the space between . .…
Read MoreRestoring the Earth Community ~ A New Perspective, Vol 2
Here’s the second segment of the series. I can’t say that I am getting more comfortable in front of a camera, so I am grateful to my patient husband Jim. Much of this content exists in an earlier post, so you can consider this the CliffNotes version. I am increasingly fascinated by the field of…
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