Great blogs, recently added to the blogroll...

I do a good bit of blog-surfing, and there are some great ones out there that I look forward to reading...here are a few that I highly recommend...

~The Rev. Peter M. Carey

"Sacred Every Day" is a blog just launched by the Rev. Dr. Pamela Cooper-White who was a colleague of mine while I was being sponsored for ordination St. Martin in the Fields Episcopal Church in Philadelphia. She was an adjunct priest there and was a professor at Lutheran Seminary in Philadelphia. She has now moved to Georgia and teaches at Columbia Seminary. She is a great writer, wonderful soul, and has now entered the community of Episcopal bloggers. Welcome her, and check out her blog here: http://pamelacooper-white.blogspot.com

"Fig Tree Notes" is a blog written by the Rev. Jim Lewis, a priest who has been dedicated to working for gospel-inspired social justice for several decades. He is a great writer and puts his body where his views are. To top it off, he was a great lacrosse player many years ago and had been on the board of the Episcopal Peace Fellowship a decade or so before I served on that board. Check out his blog here: http://www.figtreenotes.com

"Civil War Memory" is a blog written by Kevin Levin, a history teacher and Civil War historian in Charlottesville, Virginia. He is a good historian, a good writer, and I have enjoyed learning more about the Civil War, and also about politics and history from him. Check out his blog here: http://cwmemory.com

"Christ Episcopal Church Albertville" is a blog written by the Rev. David Kendrick, a colleague of mine from seminary who is bright, thoughtful, prayerful, and a great writer. He is prolific in his biblical and theological reflections and has done a great job with this blog, as well as with an earlier one in which he reflected on the Daily Office. Check out David's blog here: http://cec-albertville.blogspot.com

"Leading Thoughts from Triangle Associates" is a blog written by educational leaders who are hired to help revision and improve the leadership of educational institutions. Their reflections are helpful for anyone in a leadership position and I have enjoyed reading their posts. Check out the blog here: http://triangleassociates.typepad.com/weblog

"Costly Grace" is a blog written by the Archer of the Forest, a priest who has an eclectic style, is a good writer, and takes on all kinds of issues. I love seeing what he might post, and read everything he posts. Check out his blog here: http://costlygrace.blogspot.com

Advent (Blog) Calendar - December 2

December 2 - "Fiat Lux" Blog


For the second day in Advent, I offer another "Jim" blog, this one is Fiat Lux blog, written by the Rev. James Richardson, the rector of St. Paul's Memorial Episcopal Church in Charlottesville, Virginia. Jim has only been at St. Paul's since this summer, but he is bringing a great deal of energy, a lot of good ideas, and clearly has some profound thoughts and a deep understanding of the scriptures, theology, and liturgy. His blog posts are eclectic and fun, and I enjoy reading his writing. Do check out his blog over at: http://spmcrector.blogspot.com/


I promise that we won't have "Jim" blogs every day - but there are a few I may recommend.


Peace and Advent Blessings,


"Stay Awake!"


~ The Rev. Peter M. Carey

Advent (Blog) Calendar - December 1

Well, it's Advent, and for me, it began with a bit of a bang, as it also coincides with two new classes to teach, chapel services to lead and preach at in all three divisions, and a few extra meetings, all this while trying to get "back into the swing" after the relaxing Thanksgiving Holiday.

There are some wonderful resources out there on Advent. I found Rowan Williams' Advent Message on Youtube this year to be particularly wonderful, and I have watched it a few times. The Diocese of Washington is presenting its annual online Advent Calendar, and you can check out Episcopal Cafe for some wonderful other resources.


What I offer here for Advent is a blog recommendation each day of Advent. I am already a day behind, so I will offer the December 1st recommendation here today.


December 1st - "JimsBlog"

The Rev. Dr. James Somerville is the pastor of the First Baptist Church here in Richmond, Virginia. I ran across his blog the other day and think that he has some wonderful reflections on the church, the Bible, and the ways that Faith comes to life in the everyday. He has posted some of his sermons which are just excellent, and I have enjoyed reading his writing. The last few days he has reflected upon the question of what our church will look like in 50 years. Do check out his blog: http://jimsomerville.wordpress.com/


~ The Rev. Peter M. Carey

Looking for Scriptural Blogs? Check out Biblische Ausbildung

My former Hebrew Scriptures/Old Testament professor from Seminary has an awesome blog that I read all the time, but this week he has assembled an annotated list of recent blog entries on the "Biblical Carnival 19" on the Scriptures that is just excellent. Check it out!




Biblische Ausbildung: Biblical Studies Carnival XIX

Since I was just ordained to the transitional diaconate 6 days ago, my wife and family are just at the beginning of the adjustment period for learning some of the issues of being a "clergy family" and a "clergy spouse." Luckily, my sponsoring rector and his spouse have been good models for us, as well as several other priests that we know. Also, during seminary my wife made close friends to discuss some of the implications of being a clergy spouse.

I was on the Episcopal Cafe blog and found this entry on "A Priest's Wife Buys Underwear" written by Sara Mcginley, which is just wonderful, insightful and hilarious. I surfed over to her other blog called "Sara Mcginley" and it is also great ...


We are about to move to New York for the summer, where I will be exercising my diaconal ministry mostly serving those in need ... in this case, I will be watching my two young boys (under 5 years old) while my wife pursues a master's degree. After she has supported me in seminary for three years (as well as the discernment process before that!), it is really the least I can do. Do I have some trepidation about being in New York City and have as my charges two energized young boys for 8-9 hours a day? Well, yes I do. I hope to reflect upon this intensive parenting and "incarnational" spiritual practice in this blog, as well as post them in a new blog dedicated to my deacon summer in NYC.

There is a lot to do in NYC and I am excited about the adventure, I'm sure it will be formational for me!

Episcope Blog

I just came across the "Episcope" Blog which has a wide variety of articles regarding the Episcopal Church ... and has a wonderfully diverse list of blogs....and while I do not any longer see things as merely linear in terms of "left and right," there are some great blogs listed here, and good articles..."eyes left," "eyes center," "eyes right." Check it out when you have a chance, some great items here...