A Message From Duncan- May 30, 2023
Eagles and Grasshoppers Last Thursday Duncan had the great privilege of preaching at Montgomery Academy’s Baccalaureate, and of giving the Invocation at Commencement. Some of you have asked for a copy of the sermon, and so here it is, below. I hope it makes an interesting alternative to his normal weekly article. Montgomery Academy Baccalaureate, […]
A Message From Duncan- May 23, 2023
“We are born with a longing to be longed for.” I don’t know who said that, but I regret to say it wasn’t me. Never mind – I can still quote it at the Great Cocktail Party of Life, and look wise and witty. I’m sure I can pull it off if I try. Nowadays, […]
A Message from Duncan- May 17, 2023
Not exactly lying, but hoping to mislead When I immigrated with my three young children, we had hours of innocent fun talking about the new words we were hearing, the unknown places we were visiting, and the novel tastes we were sampling. Those early months were disabling but fun. It seemed that every day one […]
A Message From Duncan May 11, 2023
Don’t Fight – Work! A few years ago, I was fortunate to attend a 10-day workshop in Minnesota for Christian writers. (I’m not a writer, but I am a Christian. One out of two ain’t bad.) I thought it would help me as a preacher to have an immersion experience with people who use words […]
A message from Duncan- May 4, 2023
Bizarre Bazaar I really wanted a blanket. A nice sandy-colored, modestly patterned, home-spun blanket, the kind that adorned the camel I had ridden the previous day. But as I stood in that North African market my heart sank. There were so many to choose from, and so many vendors, each with pound signs in their […]
A Message from Duncan- April 25, 2023
The Clergy’s Dirty Little Secret That got your attention. Actually, I wasn’t being completely honest with that headline. My topic today is, indeed, a problem shared by many clergy; and it can be truthfully described as ‘dirty’. But it’s not ‘little’ (in fact, it is huge) and neither is it a ‘secret’ (it […]
A Message from Duncan- April 18, 2023
Squinting Through Dirty Windshields A few weeks ago, our car began giving us messages. ‘Beep, beep, beep’ it screamed. I panicked. ‘What was that?… Did I just do something dangerous… or illegal?… Is the engine about to blow up?’ My heart rate rose and my blood pressure soared through the (unconvertible) roof of the Subaru. […]
A Message from Deonna- April 11, 2023
Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and on those in the tombs bestowing life! (Paschal Troparion) The icon pictured above is the icon of the resurrection (anastasis). It is also known as “Christ’s descent into Hades.” It is interesting that the icon of the resurrection reflects the Orthodox Christian emphasis […]
A Message from Duncan- April 02, 2023
Arguing and Other Weird Sports When I was a kid, the BBC televised one of the weirdest sports you’ve never heard of. It’s called lawn bowls and it is not played much in these United States. The aim is to roll four wooden balls (called ‘woods’) across a very large lawn towards a small white […]
A Message from Duncan- March 26, 2023
Bible Bloopers If, like me, you are pretty average at typing, you’ll be pleased to know that there’s nothing new about typos. Like most folks, I was never taught to type, and so my first draft of an 1,800-word sermon is riddled with errors – usually over 100 of them (and that is with ‘autocorrect’ […]