• “…these were Heavenly” by Wendell Berry The painter Harlan Hubbard said that he was painting Heaven when the places he painted merely were the Campbell or the Trimble County banks of the Ohio, or farms and hills where he had worked or roamed a house’s gable and roofline rising from a fold in the […]
The IM Saturday Monks Brunch: Labor Day Weekend 2020 Edition
The first official Labor Day was born in a context of protest and violence… On May 11, 1894, workers at the Pullman Palace Car Company, a railroad car manufacturer near Chicago, went on strike to protest their low wages and 16-hour workdays. On June 22, members of the powerful American Railway Union joined their struggle […]
Bonhoeffer on “The Leader”
Bonhoeffer on “The Leader” Only the leader who is in the service of the penultimate and ultimate authority merits loyalty. • Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “The Führer and the Individual in the Younger Generation” in Clifford J. Green. The Bonhoeffer Reader • • • It is always a fraught proposition to speak of Nazi Germany and Hitler […]
A Blessing for You Today on Your Journey
A Blessing for You Today on Your Journey • May it be an evening star Shines down upon you May it be when darkness falls Your heart will be true You walk a lonely road Oh, how far you are from home Mornië utúlië (darkness has come) Believe and you will find your way Mornië […]
The IM Saturday Monks Brunch: August 29, 2020 — Mostly Music Edition
• • • The IM Saturday Monks Brunch: August 29, 2020 — Mostly Music Edition • Peter Mayer’s song set to transcendent time lapse videos of northern lights, the Milky Way, meteors and more. Video by John Ashley. Magnificent. • Praise to the Lord, the Almighty! Tomorrow is the Sunday for what is perhaps my […]
Jeff Dunn: Update re: Kathy and Prayer
Update re: Kathy and Prayer By Jeff Dunn, 8/25/20 Further Update from CM: At 10:20 am today I received this text from Jeff… WooHoo! The nurse just said Kathy is making great progress! Her oxygen requirement from a machine continues to decline, meaning she is breathing much better on her own. And that means she […]
Let’s discuss…abortion
Let’s discuss…abortion * Update: I will cut off comments at midnight tonight for this post. * Note from CM: I will try to moderate this closely today. The “pro-life” (anti-abortion) movement has become invigorated since the election of President Trump in 2016, and many Christians support him largely on this basis. They cannot even conceive […]
From Jeff Dunn: Not a Good Update
From Jeff Dunn: Not a Good Update Received Wednesday, August 19, 2020 Let me start with where we are right now. Kathy is in the ICU at St. John Hospital here in Tulsa. She’s in critical condition with Covid-19 pneumonia, among other things. Today she was intubated (put on a ventilator) because her breathing declined […]
The IM Saturday Monks Brunch: August 22, 2020
The IM Saturday Monks Brunch: August 22, 2020 • • • • MLB play of the week… • It’s been too long since I’ve heard such eloquence spoken in a political context… So what do we do now? What’s our strategy? Over the past four years, a lot of people have asked me, “When others […]
On “Soft” Racism
On “Soft” Racism Hi, my name is Mike and most of my life has been lived in a culture of “soft” racism. “Soft” racism is my phrase for the mindset of people — like me — who grew up in a homogeneous white culture. I was raised in the Midwest, northern Illinois to be precise. […]