The Merriam-Webster Dictionary’s word of the year in 2023 was “authentic.” I’m not surprised.
Merriam-Webster publishes the annual “word” from among the most looked-up within a given year, filtering out more common five-letter words that appear in countless games and crossword puzzles. In 2023, with the arrival of popular AI apps (like Chat GPT and Google’s Bard), a surge in charges of fake news, and a rise in “deepfake” photos in news and media, it seems there was a big increase in the interest for what is real, true, and even—if it exists—original. We all have to ask ourselves, more and more it seems: “Is that the real thing?”

I believe joy is integral to our resilience as human beings. It is something essential to our lives, even though at times joy can be difficult for us to access or even accept as being possible.

This week, Serena Williams (yes – the retired tennis star, super athlete, entrepreneur, cultural icon, and mother of two) posted on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “I am not ok today. And that’s ok to not be ok. No one is ok every single day. If you are not ok today I’m with you. There’s always tomorrow. Love you.” It went viral.

Portland area teachers and Portland Public Schools are now well into the second week of a strike, with schools remaining closed. It is getting harder on everyone. Prior to seminary and ordination, I was a public high school teacher in Texas. Teachers in Texas have no collective bargaining rights and limited ability to organize. Teacher “unions” are relegated to offering education resources, liability insurance, and some legal representation to their members.

It is so very important that we each do what we can, even when it feels small or insignificant or big and ostentatious. We do what we can, and trust God to bless our offerings and make them a blessing for others. 

This Saturday, clergy, delegates and others will gather online for the Annual Meeting of the Convention of Episcopal Church in Western Oregon.  Our form of church government in The Episcopal Church is representative and deliberative.  Members of the laity are elected to represent their parish or mission congregation, serving alongside priests and deacons to take their part in the councils of the church. 

Violence and suffering continue to rage in Palestine.  On Tuesday of this week, as Christians and people of faith around the world were fasting and praying for peace, a bomb

This time, violence was reignited on October 7, when members of the militant group Hamas launched a surprise attack from land, sea and air on unsuspecting young adults, children, and families throughout the southern portion of Israel. 

We sang a beloved hymn on Sunday in the 9:00 service, but we didn’t sing my favorite verse. There is no talk of raising Ebenezers in the 1982 hymnal version of “Come, thou fount of every blessing,” even though the missing verse is part of original lyrics composed in the 1750’s.