Author: C. Alicia Randolph

St. Meinrad’s Monastery, Indiana, site of 36 hour retreat on the ancient “Jesus Prayer.” On Mercy By Rev. Alicia Randolph Rapking It might have been sometime last fall when I came to the realization that I was thinking about “mercy.” It was during the time when Germany was receiving the greatest influx of Syrian refugees. … Continue reading On Mercy

I find myself thinking about lavender as I sit down to write this article today. I confess that this past week has been a difficult week for my soul. The Parish House/Crosslines has been closed, as we do each year the week of the 4th of July and I had planned to spend the week … Continue reading Lavender Peace and Prayer

A Season of Pilgrimages By Rev. Alicia Randolph Rapking I am not the same as I was last year this time. I have reached a time in my life when the youngest of our children will soon leave home and join his brother and sister as they find their places in this world, discovering what … Continue reading A Season Of Pilgrimages

Through Deep Waters By Rev. Alicia Randolph Rapking As I write this today, I am in Nebraska visiting my brother Richard and his family. This visit is long overdue. We see each other about once a year or so and it is unfortunate, but I have never ventured out to see him in the Midwest. … Continue reading Through Deep Waters

The Stack is Growing By Rev. Alicia Randolph Rapking Several weeks ago, I wrote about homelessness, a topic that I come back to over and over again. Over the years, the issue of homelessness, no matter how it occurs, has been an important issue for me to think about, preach about, write about, and most … Continue reading The Stack is Growing!

Every Time I Feel the Spirit By Rev. Alicia Randolph Rapking Music is a powerful gift in our lives. It offers us a way to express ourselves. It brings us together, often around a cause or a celebration. It is calming to us or cheering to us. It encourages us or sets a mood for … Continue reading Every Time I Feel the Spirit

Confessions of a New Mother from a Seasoned Mother Over the past few days, I have been thinking about this weekend as a day we celebrate mothers and I decided to share a prayer/sermon that I wrote shortly after becoming a mother nearly twenty-five years ago. The whole celebration of Mothers’ Day can be loaded. … Continue reading Confessions of a New Mother

  A Good Shepherd, Sheep, and a World-wide Flock So, I have been thinking about sheep this week. Quite a bit. More than I would like to admit. It could be that I have been thinking about sheep because I wrote about knitting last week and since I am a purest when it comes to … Continue reading A Good Shepherd and a World-wide Flock

Knitting in Defiance Back in the winter I had the opportunity for several conversations about homelessness. On more than one occasion I had been asked to explain to someone why I had made the statement that we have homeless folks here in Upshur County and that one of my daily prayers is always for the … Continue reading Knitting in Defiance

  Today is Easter Monday. At least, that is what this day was called when I was growing up in North Carolina because it was a statewide holiday. Often, as a child, Easter Monday meant a day to pull out shorts, go barefoot outside, think about planting gardens. It was a laid back kind of … Continue reading Easter Monday Reflections