MDiv. Hospitality Coordinator @ Benedictine Retreat Center. Friend of Dorothy Day. Spiritual Director. Boundless Compassion Facilitator. Centering Prayer practitioner. Benedictine Oblate. Dishwasher for the revolution. L'Arche for life. He/Him/His.🏳️🌈
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There's a job at a L'Arche community that seems very in line with what I'd consider a "dream job" as the director of spirituality & formation but it just doesn't seem like the right time to leave my current postion, so I'm afraid that I might never get another chance like this if I don't jump at it.
I had that CD! Probably still do in a box or a tote somewhere.
I have it on my calendar and keep meaning to come. Maybe next time I'll make it.
According to Ancestry, some of my ancestors were part of the Quakers/Anabaptists/Mennonites who settled in Pennsylvania in the 1700's. Maybe that's why I have always felt drawn to Quakerism - it's in my blood. And also because Quakers are radical, peace loving, inclusive pacifists which I dig, too.
Here is the group of Benedictine retreat center & guesthouse staff I spent the past week with. Out of this group only about 6 of us weren't a monk or a nun. I was the only man that wasn't a monk. It was a wonderful group to spend time and network with.
Here is the group of Benedictine retreat center & guesthouse staff I spent the past week with. Out of this group only about 6 of us weren't a monk or a nun. I was the only man that wasn't a monk. It was a wonderful group to spend time and network with.
I believe this and I want to share it widely. But I know some people will want to know where I got these figures. Is there somewhere that this is listed that I can direct them to? Not that it will help, but at least I'll have done my part.
I know I'm weird but have you ever thought you were going to be asked to serve on a group or a committee and grumbled about it, and then it turned out you weren't actually asked, and then you felt a little sad that you weren't? That may have happened to me this week 🤣
Art depicting “Sandwich Guy” now at the scene of the alleged misdemeanor.
I took the first picture last night. We drove home from St Benedict Center today. I already miss my daily walks around their little lake and eating meals with my new friends. But I'm glad to be back home with beautiful skies like the second picture (taken tonight).
A group of us walked across the street from St Benedict Center to see Christ the King Priory. We weren't expecting to go inside, but the Prior, Father Anastasius, opened the door and welcomed us in and let us see their chapel, which is beautiful. I'm glad we ventured over there this evening!
Today is our last full day at St Benedict Center. I certainly will miss the morning views like this one.
I'm still at St Benedict Center in Schuyler, Nebraska for a conference of Benedictine retreat center staff. Lots of lovely people here who do great work. We had supper with the Brothers of Christ the King Priory this evening & they were all very nice. One more full day tomorrow and then we go home.
I'm in Schuyler, Nebraska at St Benedict's Center for a conference this week. I got to spend some time today enjoying the grounds (and feeding the koi fish).
rest in power ms. johnson. 🏳️⚧️✊
"I am so tired of waiting. Aren’t you, for the world to become good and beautiful and kind?" - Langston Hughes
(and despite Christianity)
I have goals to get to Sewanee. This makes me want to come even more now.
I work with and am around nuns almost every day and they are all wonderful. There's maybe one that's questionable.
I'm going to try this again, although I don't often get any responses. But I'm nothing if not optimistic: I'm thinking about seeking training to become a grief coach. Does anyone have any familiarity with this? Any recommendations of programs or where to look? Experience as a grief coach? Anything?
Thanks! I will look into the links you provided!
If you see me at the club, this is what you'll find.
I'm going to try this again, although I don't often get any responses. But I'm nothing if not optimistic: I'm thinking about seeking training to become a grief coach. Does anyone have any familiarity with this? Any recommendations of programs or where to look? Experience as a grief coach? Anything?
What GIF pops up when you type your name?
Seems to me that this indicates a failure on the part of the government to address the housing and mental health crises in their city and our country and not so much a reason to call in the military. But what do I know?
Sometimes, I dream about running away and joining a Catholic Worker community.
They do look like that!
These are the clouds that were over Sophia Spirituality Center, where I work, when I looked at it from across the property when I came out of the monastery today. I love fun and interesting cloud shapes. What do they make you think of?
Of course!
You went from cute Hobbit to, like, confident in his sexuality and handsomeness Hobbit.
Happy National Cat Day from this cat that I saw lounging on top of my car this evening.
They don't offer any kind of scholarship?
I know who you won’t find on the Epstein List : Trans Folks or Drag Queens
Here is a photo collage my phone made for me of selfies from the time I had a black eye. I feel like that's kind of a weird thing for a phone to do.
Was just remembering back in the day (pre smart phones) when I'd take youth on church trips, I had it set up so I could send a text to twitter & thru Selective Tweets it would crosspost it as a status on facebook for the parents to read. The lengths we had to go to back then to stay connected...
I was feeling like I was missing out by not being at the ELCA Churchwide Assembly, but then I remembered how at the last National Youth Gathering a bunch of people got COVID so I'm kind of actually ok with missing out now.
Hello, I'm a coffee drinker in a film. I'm holding the cup and gesturing in ways that would normally send scalding hot coffee all over myself and the people around me yet it somehow magically stays in the cup.
I was going to argue for the left because that's the giraffe's neck so to have arms at the top of the neck would be weird, but then I realized that it's the giraffe's neck, so it wouldn't look like either because the human half of the centaur is fully human and then I knew I was thinking too hard.
I can pick out all the squares with motorcycles in them. So I am not a bot.
I am putting them on my grocery list right now!
I went to the ELCA Churchwide Assembly as a voting member in 2009, and even though waking up each morning it felt like I had been hit by progressively more cars the evening before, after a few cups of coffee I was ready to tackle the work set before us. Kinda jealous of the people there this year.
Oh yeah. We voted on the ordination of LGBTQ+ people then. Believe me there were a lot of red cards and faces.
I did not know these were even a thing as I tend to avoid green beans (that's the only vegetable most people could agree on so I ate way too many of them for 12 years in my last job). But these I would eat!
I was a voting member at CWA in 2009. It was actually a very exciting time to be there.
Ok that makes more sense now. Although it would raise a red flag to me if my priest asked for my SSN. But it's a different time these days.
Now they are posting ads for an online certification in "divine child healing." Which makes a little more sense to me than the other one, but also makes me ask what is it about me that makes my algorithm think I need all of this inner healing...
Wait... He thought you were a scammer so he rushed through it so someone couldn't object? Was he trying to help you with the scam? Or just trying to avoid conflict? You think he would want to help keep the bride from being scammed... 🤔
It's one of those days where I've only been at work for two hours but it feels more like 5. It's only 10:15 and I feel like it should be lunch time already. Only 6 more hours to go....
I went outside to sit on my deck and enjoy the cooler evening temperature & was greeted by this little furball watching me from the top of my stairs. I went to get them some food but they were gone when I came back out. I left a little bowl of food at the top of the stairs for them if they return.
The retreat center where I work is having a 4 day silent directed retreat next week. As a newly certified spiritual director, they've asked if I want to meet with a retreatant once a day all four days. I think it'll be a good experience but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't intimidated by the thought.
Here's a few more pics from my spiritual director formation program graduation. I know you were all dying to see them. I'm so much holier and wiser now.
Here's a few more pics from my spiritual director formation program graduation. I know you were all dying to see them. I'm so much holier and wiser now.
Facebook keeps putting ads in my feed telling me to get "certified in divine masculine healing." What even is that?
I don't know if people are aware of it, or not, but I can hear EVERYTHING when they use the bathroom that's near my desk. EVERYTHING.
Anybody on here have experience with any of the programs from Shalem Institute?
Yes.
Whenever I'm on Zoom my cat either thinks it's time for me to pay all the attention to him, or to throw up under the dining room table.
Across the alley from my apartment is a McDonald's. In the two years that I have lived here I have been good about not going there. But I caved and went yesterday and so now here I am sitting on my back deck staring at the building trying to convince myself I don't need chicken nuggets.
I went for a long walk/hike today, and started out listening to a book, but after a while I stopped and took my ear buds out to listen to the birds instead. Now I can't find one of my earbuds. Guess I'll just have to keep listening to birds like the Northern Parula and the Red Eyed Vireo.
Well, I went ahead and graduated from my spiritual director formation program and so now I'm an officially certified spiritual director. Some people think I'm good enough at listening to people's story and accompanying them on their journey to deserve a piece of paper that says so. Yay! 😇
Thank you! It's one I approach with humility and gratefulness!
Well, I went ahead and graduated from my spiritual director formation program and so now I'm an officially certified spiritual director. Some people think I'm good enough at listening to people's story and accompanying them on their journey to deserve a piece of paper that says so. Yay! 😇
Guess what happens this weekend? I graduate from my spiritual director formation program and become a certified spiritual director. You can probably expect my posts to greatly increase in wisdom and holiness after this Saturday.
On my drive home from work today, "Everytime We Touch" by Cascada came on the radio and I had a little 90's dance club moment in my car. It was glorious, no matter what the people who witnessed it from the outside might think or say!
Anyone here have any experience starting, leading, or participating in a #CenteringPrayer group in a #prison setting?
Last week, I was reminded of a term I learned a while ago. It's "Robai Shin" the Buddhist concept of "grandmother mind," which is a mind of compassion, kindness, and empathy. Like a gentle, old grandmother. And it has become a new life goal for me. memod.com/nikitad1995/...
I was listening to a podcast where Trappist monk and leader of the Centering Prayer movement Father Thomas Keating was described, in his later years, as becoming a "bubble of love," and I now have a new goal for my life. I want to morph into a "bubble of love," too.
I just found out that my niece is pregnant. I don't think I'm emotionally prepared for my niblings to be old enough to start having kids. I'm gonna need them to hold off on that for a bit.
Happy birthday to Fred Schneider of the B-52's (one of the greatest bands ever)!!!!! www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oh5J...
We are in a heat advisory. The temperature outside "felt like" 104 today. I try not to complain about the weather, but I worked up a sweat walking the ten feet from my car to my front door this morning. And it wasn't even a vigorous walk. It was like an amble. It was kind of gross.
I work at a retreat center run by Benedictine Sisters which means I work w/ a lot of older women. I absolutely❤️ it. They are great to work w/ but aren't the most tech savvy - I get a lot of text messages sent to my email, so they come as .txt files and w/ no names so I have to play detective.
The Chronicles of Narnia The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings Dr Who
So I spent a good portion of the last two days bingeing "Big Boys" on Hulu. It was a really good show, focusing on sexuality and mental health with humor and heart. And, even though I can't really say with any certainty what it is, it has really made me want a "cheeky Nando's."
I ordered a medium pizza with the plan to eat half tonight for supper and the other half tomorrow for lunch. But, plans changed as I started eating. Guess I need something else for lunch.
The show is called Dying for Sex and, for the record, I actually ended up liking it a lot. Just not quite what I was expecting when I started watching it. I really liked Jenny Slate in it. The last episode was especially good.
I saw an ad for a show on Hulu where Paula Pell plays a hospice nurse. I was intrigued so I watched all 8 episodes. It was mostly about Michelle Williams as a cancer patient engaging in a lot of sexual encounters and Paula showed up in the 8th episode and most of her scenes had been shown in the ad.
I'm not a violent person but after seeing so many reposts of the Joni Ernst video I cannot say with any amount of certainty that I wouldn't punch her in the face if I met her in person.
You ever put so much pressure on yourself to impress someone that you end up feeling like you were just an unintelligible, awkward weirdo? I'm sort of in that zone this morning.
Hey all, I'd definitely appreciate prayers for discernment, wisdom, insight, courage, peace of mind, all that good stuff. Particularly this Friday from 8:00am-9:00am for no particular reason. 😉 Thanks!
Went on a trip to Iowa and Minnesota to attend a seminary graduation and a wedding and spend time with some amazing friends and I just got home today and have to go back to work tomorrow and I'm not super happy about this situation right at this moment.
The audacity.
Because you can use your reason and skill to help you navigate life without opposable thumbs. And you can use your memory to remember how you did something without opposable thumbs last time, so you don't have to figure it out by trial and error all over again.
FB privacy settings are obnoxious. This past weekend, I posted a new profile pic on FB. 2 people have since shared it. I can't see who bc "there are no public shares." That means the people who shared it have strict privacy settings. But it's my picture. Shouldn't I be allowed to see who shared it?
When/If I have news to share, I will let you know.
Hello discernment my old friend. You've come to talk to me again. This was just supposed to be a fun visit to see good friends at a graduation and a wedding. But it might end up being life altering.
When I came to visit my friends for their son's graduation from seminary and their other son's wedding, I wasn't expecting to have a full blown vocational discernment crisis. But then, I'm not usually expecting that to happen.
I love all of these characters so that must mean I really love myself, right?? Take the fictional characters quiz and post the first four you know: openpsychometrics.org/tests/charac...
And this kind of job would put those skills to good use in a place that you love and has been meaningful to you. Do you think that's maybe some kind of sign that I should think about applying?
And he suggests you think about applying for it. And it's a job that works closely with students about discernment and navigating the whole seminary journey and you are going to be graduating from a spiritual director formation program in a month 3/
"Because someone is already in that position." And the professor says she is actually moving into a different position and they have just started looking to find someone to fill her old position. And then you hear from another professor that he's actually on the search committee for that position 2/
Random #discernment question: say you are at your old seminary and you are talking to a professor and you say that a certain person's job sounds like it would be an interesting and fun job and then the professor asks if you are going to apply for it. Which leads you to ask "Why would I..." 1/
He did it again this morning. I was just settling down to do my centering prayer this morning and from the other room I hear my cat barfing up a not unsubstantial amount of his freshly eaten cat food on the area rug underneath my dining room table. I swear he does this on purpose.
At the retreat center where I work we have a Keurig coffee maker because that seems to work the best for our guests. I'm not a big fan because of the plastic cups. We found compostable pods so we bought them, you know, to reduce waste. Turns out they are all individually wrapped in plastic. 😐😑😐
Today in "Other Duties as Assigned" I spent a large part of the morning planting flowers in the various planters around the retreat center. Here's a few:
Someone I know is fostering a mama cat and four kittens. One kitten has cerebellar hypoplasia - a neurological condition that affects things like their gait and balance and muscle control. I've been thinking about getting a second cat for some time now and am wondering if this one might be it.
"Faith Ministers are BLOCKING the entrance to the ICE Detention Center, Delaney Hall in New Jersey where Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested last week." Posted by @scootercaster.com on "X" at 1:19 pm EDT
Just a reminder: If you are too tired, angry, or confused to pray, don't worry - we are doing it for you (it’s all part of that "Body of Christ" thing.) We start at 4:00am and continue at intervals throughout the day. St. Gregory's Abbey (a Benedictine monastery in the Episcopal Church) #tec
One of my friends is in charge of technology for the Sisters in the monastery and 90% of her job is taking care of stuff like that when the older Sisters click on links they shouldn't or something else along those lines. I know it is not easy work!
I've been thinking that I should watch The Conclave to get an idea of what happens during a papal election. I still might. But first, I decided to buy a copy of Pink Smoke Over the Vatican which is a documentary about the movement of women seeking ordination in the Roman Catholic church.