Uncategorized – holy discomfort: Love letters from a reluctant Christian

Making something

What do you do when the world is burning. When you surface from uneasy dreams to find yourself in a house engulfed in flames, room gorged with smoke and fire alarm broken. When calls to your elected representatives–all Republicans, or not–are met with stock replies. When the words of your op-ed turn to ashes inContinue reading “Making something”

Fiddling while Rome burns

OK, OK. So it wasn’t a fiddle that Nero played while the city of Rome went up in flames. It may have been a lyre, or a kithara, but definitely not a fiddle. The violin had yet to be invented. Nero was reportedly in nearby Antium when the fire broke out. He rushed to Rome andContinue reading “Fiddling while Rome burns”

The gift of silence

How silently, how silently the wondrous gift is given.(“O Little Town of Bethlehem,” Phillips Brooks) I am stopped cold, in mid-sentence. At the top of my laptop screen a small black rectangle reads: Trying to connect…. Reconnecting…. I sit and wait to be reconnected with the personal hotspot on my iPhone. Wait for inspiration toContinue reading “The gift of silence”

Wondering and Wandering

December. Time of gathering darkness into which will be carried, bravely, the promise of light. Well, bravely—or not, as the case may be. The light will nevertheless return. I wonder as I wander It has to have been a woman who dreamed the words of the Appalachian folk carol into being. Walking outside under aContinue reading “Wondering and Wandering”

What’s Love Got to Do with It?

“For a dollar,” the White man said to me, “I’ll testify that he was assaulting you.” My husband William was walking me into the public library where I frequently go to write. Newlyweds in our early 70s, we walked hand-in-hand as the automatic doors opened to let us in. We always walk hand-in-hand, because —Continue reading “What’s Love Got to Do with It?”

The story we were told

In southeastern Virginia, history was never far away. At least, history as told by Whiteness. When I was growing up in southeastern Virginia, history was never far away. At least, history as told by Whiteness. The schools in both Norfolk and Richmond took us on regular field trips to Jamestown, Yorktown, and Williamsburg. I especiallyContinue reading “The story we were told”

The Edge of All the Light You Have

I wish I could find a photo of the poster. Or a reprint. My father hung it on the wall of his church study in the 1970s. The left half was goldenrod yellow, the right half was pitch black. A jagged line down the center of the poster divided them. It read: Faith means walkingContinue reading “The Edge of All the Light You Have”

“…something about me….”

William and I are newlyweds in our early 70s. In 1969, we were in school together for one year. It was the last year for Freedom of Choice in Wake County, North Carolina, before full desegregation. I have returned to Wake Forest to write about my family’s experience of racist violence in this place. AnContinue reading ““…something about me….””

Curiosity: A Postmortem

Curiosity died. It happened while I was sleeping. I guess. I don’t rightly know. All I know is that I woke up this morning thinking, I never want to leave this bed. I am interested in nothing, I thought to myself. I’m not curious about anything. My lack of curiosity alarmed me. It’s death toContinue reading “Curiosity: A Postmortem”

What Changes, What Remains the Same

1970 “Didn’t you know what Rev. Shipp believed when you hired him?” the reporter asked. “Didn’t he preach about it?” “Yes,” she replied without giving her name, “but we thought that was just preaching. We didn’t think he was gonna do anything about it.” 2021 Ridgecrest Baptist Church sits beside NC State Highway 98,Continue reading “What Changes, What Remains the Same”