Yes, I'm a minister. No, I don't have a church.

Questions for the reader are in  a different font . This is the fifth blog post for the  Companions on the Inner Way  summer retreat. The featured speaker is  Enuma Okoro . You can find the other blog posts here: Blogging for Companions on the Inner Way: It’s Not About Me.  Seeking Home: Where Do We Come From?  Who Have We Become? UnBelonging Beloved After our break yesterday, we had our Lectio group. The Scripture passage was John 15:18-21 . I am not particularly fond of the Gospel of John. And this is a particularly uncomfortable passage. The phrase that stood out to me was “on account of my name.” What the heck is that about? I wondered. I went to the art room (at least I’m persistent, eh?) and started with oil pastels. I wanted to draw the vortex that can be the national church. I’m not saying this because I don’t love my work, or where I work, or my colleagues. It is a natural hazard of being national staff that it can become a vorte...

Questions for the reader are in a different font . This is the fourth blog post for the Companions on the Inner Way summer retreat. The featured speaker is Enuma Okoro . You can find the other blog posts here: Blogging for Companions on the Inner Way: It’s Not About Me.  Seeking Home: Where Do We Come From?  Who Have We Become? Exile and Belonging Beloved Yesterday’s afternoon worship involved no internet access, so I didn’t tweet the sermon, delivered by Roché Vermaak. He preached as Joseph. He had several great lines, like “my brothers hated me for my Technicolor dream coat” and “we had a slightly dysfunctional family.” He also said that he (as Joseph) had made Egypt into his home, but after the reconciliation with his brothers, home was with his family in Egypt. Letting go of past resentments helped make a new home. Letting go is not the same as forgetting. We have to deal with the past in order to live in the future. (As a side-note, I have to say that t...