Since July 14, Ascension parishioner and seminarian Jenny Landis and her fiancé, seminarian Sam Owen, have been in Haiti, building a playground for the children in the town of Bondo. Follow their trip on the blog they’re posting together, “Haiti 2011,” and you can read some excerpts from their most recent posts here. But be sure you click on a post’s title to read
Put simply: this Carpenter’s Kids pilgrimage is life-changing. It is transformational. It will make you cry. It will make you smile. It will exhaust you. It will open your eyes wider than you ever thought possible. No amount of preparation and prayer could have prepared me for what awaited in Tanzania. And at the same time, I would not give up the experience for anything.
Between summer romance and mystery novels…try slipping in Richard Rohr’s The Naked Now for an inviting look at how we can find God in all things, people and different religions. Also, if you are looking for a more centering way of exploring your faith through the spiritual life without leaving the beach or city, try Joan Chittister’s The Monastery of the Heart. Both books
July 11th is the Feast of Saint Benedict, founder of Western monasticism. Benedict built a lifestyle around the values of community, hospitality, stewardship, humility, prayer and peace. Choose one of those values and celebrate it in a special way on Monday. For example, celebrate community by bringing friends in for a special meal or dessert; hospitality by doing a random act of kindness to