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
Wings of the Morning By Rev. Alicia Randolph Rapking His name was Johan Conrad Goldtman, born in Gundheim, Germany in 1653 he died in Canada in 1711 and he was my 8th great grandfather. Over 360 years is a long time ago and it surprises me, still, that I have been able to trace my … Continue reading Wings of the Morning
On the first Sunday of Lent, the Gospel lectionary reading was Luke’s recording of Jesus in the desert, the Wilderness. Each year, the Gospel for the first Sunday in Lent is one of the three recordings found in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. It is a powerful reading for me, one that I never tire of … Continue reading God is Not Absent
At the beginning of this year I learned that several of my friends were choosing words to claim as their word for the year. Claiming a word would give opportunities for exploring the deep meaning of the word and what the word would mean to their lives. I thought that the practice was interesting and … Continue reading Seeking Truth
Snowy Stillness By Rev. Alicia Randolph Rapking This morning I awoke to 18 inches of snow in my yard and snow still falling from the sky. There is the prediction that the snow will last into the evening hours. Could it be that we will receive the 20-30 inches that are now possible? My southern … Continue reading Snowy Stillness
By Rev. Alicia Randolph Rapking The words of the first verse of Psalm 24 are words that are deep in my soul and they come back to me over and over again. In the The Poverty and Justice Bible, which is in the Contemporary English translation these are the words: The earth and everything on … Continue reading The World and its People Belong to God
For me, already, it had been a difficult fall and I was looking forward to some time after Christmas and New Year’s when I could rest and reflect on the events that had made the fall difficult. I remember that year to be a year when I buried so many people from the churches and … Continue reading Emmanuel Still
What a Blessing! By Rev. Alicia Randolph Rapking As I write these words I am enjoying my own personal observance of the second day of Christmas. Because the “Twelve Days of Christmas” actually begin on Christmas Day, this is day two, the day when the “true love” gives two turtle doves. It is also known … Continue reading What a Blessing!
We Need Emmanuel By Rev. Alicia Randolph Rapking There was a time in my life when I thought that I understood Advent, but I didn’t. Growing up in a United Methodist pastor’s household, we always had an Advent wreath on our dining room table and each evening we would light the appropriate number of candles … Continue reading We Need Emmanuel!
We Need Advent! I have one great fear in life and many, many smaller fears. I am terrified of flying. I fear the loss of control that I feel as soon as I walk onto an airplane. I fear the small chance of crash every take off and landing. These fears are huge for me … Continue reading We Need Advent!
prayers of my heart, a collection of articles and writings by C. Alicia Randolph 