"...I’ll never forget the words of another ex-boyfriend of mine, who once stated in an anguish with which I felt the most sincere empathy, “I feel like a closeted gay with Christians and a closeted Christian with gays!” This, beloved, is an example of the truth that representation matters. Despite the booming echoes of legalistic condemnation and wholesale denunciation of entire swaths of the human family which resound like clanging cymbals from the voices of the loveless “religious right,” sharply contrasted by the nature of God as Love (1 John 4:7-21), we the Body of Christ on earth must combat darkness with light, hate with love, and intolerance with affirmation."

"Lord Jesus Christ, my God: Heal my passions through the suffering of Thy holy Passion. Heal the wounds of my soul through the wounds which Thou didst suffer. Cleanse my blood with Thine holy blood and unite my body with the fragrance of Thy life-giving body."

"O Lord Jesus Christ my God, the treasure of all good things: Grant Thou me perfect repentance and a fervent heart that I may wholeheartedly come forth to seek Thee. Without Thee, I will become estranged from all good things. Therefore, grant Thou me Thy Grace, O Good One..."

“Fantasy is escapist, and that is its glory. If a soldier is imprisoned by the enemy, don't we consider it his duty to escape? If we value the freedom of mind and soul, if we're partisans of liberty, then it's our plain duty to escape, and to take as many people with us as we can!”

J. R. R. Tolkien

It is not without the extensive realms of the imagination that God sustains humankind, made in God's own image, as partakers of the mystery of creation. Our Maker crafted us with colorful minds, ready for adventure, in order that we might use these minds to begin to discover our world's revelations of truth and beauty and enhance our perspectives on life.

"Humanity has been commissioned for stewardship from the beginning, and ministering to the needs of one another and creation remains essential to its collective function. Amidst the 'varieties of gifts,' 'services,' and 'activities,' which comprise the collective ministry of the worshipping assembly of God’s faithful, the functions and responsibilities of particular ministries differ in order to compliment each other (1 Cor 12:4-31). Though these differences lend themselves to variations in vocational experiences, they are called by the same Spirit to the communal Christian ministries of service and liberation."

"Siblings, God commands us through Jesus Christ to love one another. In baptism, we promise to seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbors as ourselves and to strive for justice and peace, and respect the dignity of every human being. Let us now honor those vows and pray for the Holy Land and all the peoples of Palestine and Israel in this season of conflict and violence, for wise and just leaders, and for the needs of all people of every faith in the Middle East and throughout the world.

We pray for continued blessings on all peacemakers, on leaders who value peace, and on everyone who promotes nonviolent solutions to conflict. We pray for a speedy end to all violence and warfare in the Holy Land..."

"Those who engage in discussions with me on the subject of such adventures of faith soon become aware of the fact that I was formerly Eastern Orthodox and am now a practicing Episcopalian. As these experiences of faith have formed such a large part of my identity, I make no demur about the perspectives I hold as a former Antiochian Orthodox seminarian and Subdeacon, and a proud Anglo-Catholic. These ecclesiastical oases of spiritual nourishment, among other characteristics and identifying factors, are so deeply engrained in who I am that I would find it less than authentic not to disclose the presence of their influence in my approach to matters of faith and spirituality.

...Therefore, I do affirm that I converted to the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church when I left American Evangelicalism for Orthodoxy; my relocation from the jurisdiction of Antioch to that of Canterbury has instead been a continuation and rearrangement of my orientation, more like the activity of setting things right that have been misplaced. Moving from Evangelicalism to Orthodox Christianity was a conversion; transitioning into the Episcopal Church was a fitting and suitable contextualization."

"...I believe that it is the calling of all members of the Body of Christ to live our lives in such a way as to exemplify and preach good news to the poor, the release of captives, sight to the blind, freedom to the oppressed, and the Lord’s favor (Luke 4:18-19).
In the pursuit of spiritual authenticity and wholeness, my spirit is continually drawn to the altar in the worship of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; my soul gravitates towards the continuous work of the Church’s ministry as a layperson, and it is my solemn prayer that God may see fit to send me out into the world as one of the many shepherds commissioned to serve God’s own flock. It is my sincere hope that this condensed overview of my faith journey, supplemented by an abbreviated sampling of the anecdotes and reflections which constitute it, may provide a satisfactory illustration of the posture and substance of my spiritual life."

"The inclusivity of the orthodox catholic Faith is exhibited in the reality that all are welcome to feast at the banquet table of the Kingdom of Heaven. St. Paul's immortal words to the Galatians are as true to the nature of the Church as its apostolicity and unity: "There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus" (Gal. 3:28).

…In the spirit of inclusivity, equity, and justice, “Oil & Water: Orthodoxy in Progress” exists for the exploration and proclamation of the harmony intrinsic to the commonly misunderstood intersection of the orthodox catholic doctrines of Christianity and the fundamental principles of progressive and inclusive ideologies and actionable ideals.”

"...In the Eucharistic Liturgy, a more cosmic reality is at play than simply the recitation of scripted prayers; for the life of the world, the Church holds steadfast to that consistency in which it has found its broader identity. In the Church’s active participation in a very literal liturgical celebration, such as the Sunday morning Eucharist, humankind is commissioned to employ its spiritual and liturgical integrity and to repent of any worldview which would traverse the bounds of the apostolic tradition of the revealed Faith of the children of God."

"One of the most prolific names in the field of liberation theology, Gustavo Gutierrez outlines 'theological reflection,' as a function which, 'would then necessarily be a criticism of society and the Church insofar as they are called and addressed by the Word of God; it would be a critical theory, worked out in the light of the Word accepted in faith and inspired by a practical purpose—and therefore indissolubly linked to historical praxis.' This essay will highlight the functionality of the New Testament message of good news as an actively liberating force in the human story and defend the theology of liberation as a timely and essential tenet of the Christian gospel and the theology which is responsible for its portrayal to the broader worshipping community..."

"...Second only to the Lord's Prayer itself, the Magnificat is the New Testament canticle which most succinctly encapsulates the Gospel message itself, proclaiming the fulfillment of the promise of God in the revolutionary upheaval of conventional power structures, the humiliation of the arrogant wealthy, and the exaltation of the humble poor."