Journal

Something Tangible for the New Year

A book review of Tangible: Making God Known Through Deeds of Mercy and Words of Truth by Chris Sicks (Colorado Springs, CO; NavPress, 2013) by Mary C. Amendolia How did an atheist turn into a man of mercy? Tangible: Making God Known Through Deeds of Mercy and Words of...
A Good Man, a Good Life, a Good Death

A Good Man, a Good Life, a Good Death

On December 31, 2013, Bill Scherer, father to Tara and father-in-law to me, entered the larger Life.  He was a founding board member of Coracle, and instrumental in enabling Corhaven to come into reality, among so many other things.  Below is the homily that I...
Christmas Mystery of Marriage

Christmas Mystery of Marriage

In the Joseph portion of the Christmas story (Matthew 1: 18-24), Joseph reverses his decision to put Mary away due to his encounter with an angel of the Lord who comes in a dream. In the Mary portion of the Christmas story (Luke 1: 26-56), Mary accepts the word of the...

A Christmas Story

It was a chilly evening in Bethlehem. No snow, but definitely a bitter wind that made you want to seek cover. Not long after graduating from college, I was there.  Privileged to attend a Christmas Eve Mass at the 4th century Church of the Nativity, I prayed just a few...

Living in the Present Moment

by Kit Elmer A wise friend once told me “God is alive in the present moment and in eternity. Satan’s territories are the past and the future.” Those words impacted me greatly and I realized that is why these two questions, “What if?” and “If only?” can be and have...

Blossomed and Fed

A Homily in Memoriam for Peggy Buresh, December 15, 2013 My enduring memories of Peggy Buresh will not be her body in the last year of her life on this earth the way that this earth is now.  They will be of all her years of life leading into this past year, and there...

What’s More Important?

Who has achieved more for global peace, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon or…Fozzy Bear? The gospel of Jesus is radiated long before it is communicated.  What is radiated is what is communicated.  “For we are the aroma of Christ” (2 Cor. 2:15); the truth of our...

Making Next Year Happen This Year

Dear friends and fellow-pilgrims, I’m genuinely excited to ask for your help to enable Coracle to grow in the coming year, but you’ll have to wait til the bottom of this letter for the details about that. There is just so much really good stuff to share first! After...
God Loves You… No, Really!

God Loves You… No, Really!

Recently, I had another all too familiar conversation with a man preparing for a retreat at Corhaven. He said, “Even though I’ve been a Christian for many years and heard a hundred sermons on this, I have a hard time accepting God’s love for me. If I had to climb 10...

Thankful For Soggy Messes

A Japanese red maple graces the front of our home. We planted it about 20 years ago. It provides wonderful shade while in leaf and lately has been home to a family of doves. It does however have the bad habit of dripping a sticky resin onto our cars. In the Fall its...
Praying With Icons

Praying With Icons

I have been trying to write about icons since attending Betsey Malloy’s retreat at Corhaven on Praying With Icons (June 2, 2013).  I own a handful of icons.  They look nice.  But, pray with them?  Afterward, I agreed to write a reflection and it would “not...

Appealing

by Carol Jackson Appealing: attractive or interesting. synonyms: attractive, engaging, alluring, captivating, tempting, enticing, irresistible, winsome, 2.  (of an expression or tone of voice) showing that one wants help or sympathy. “an appealing look”...

A Few Last Thoughts From 39,000 Feet

On the flight home now, still in and over this amazing part of God’s good earth where so many of the people of this earth live.  While I’m on my way back, Bill Deiss will head on to Kuching, Malaysia for several days with Archbishop Bolly to see some of the...
The Church of the Province of Southeast Asia

The Church of the Province of Southeast Asia

Bill and I had long meetings today in Singapore at St. Andrew’s Cathedral. We had a very profitable time with the Archbishop of the Province of Southeast Asia (CPSEA), Bolly Lapok from Kuching, Malaysia, Keith X who convenes the Economic Empowerment Task Force for the...

Singapore in One Photo

The 55-story high Marina Bay Hotel and Park, with a giant ‘boat’ on top connecting the three towers, complete with pool, casino, restaurants, spa, and more.  And why this photo sums up Singapore is that when Bill Deiss left Singapore in 1984, there was no...

An Inspiring Story and Recommended Book

“They tried to put me in solitary confinement but that is actually impossible as God is everywhere.” James Mawdsley   What would you go to jail for in Burma?  Burma itself, in the case of James Mawdsley. Mawdsley is a Brit who, in the late 1990s, got...

A Growing Church in Burma

After hearing virtually every Anglican Burmese talk about the Archbishop’s vision for the Province of the Church of Myanmar (CPM), “Thy Will Be Done,”  we were excited to hear it from Archbishop Stephen Than Myint Oo himself.  He did not disappoint, and we were...
Recent Reports on Retreats at Corhaven

Recent Reports on Retreats at Corhaven

Some wonderful women who’ve recently come to Corhaven for retreats have blogged about what they experienced. Read reflections from Lori Smith and Sarah Klotz. We continue to be amazed and grateful for how God meets people here. It’s not what we...