Trinity Sunday

Trinity Sunday

A church that doesn't provoke any crises

A church that doesn’t provoke any crises, a gospel that doesn’t unsettle, a word of God that doesn’t get under anyone’s skin, a word of God that doesn’t touch the real sin of the society in which it is being proclaimed - what gospel is that? Very nice, pious considerations that don’t bother anyone, that’s the way many would like preaching to be. Those preachers who avoid every thorny matter so as not to be harassed, so as not to have conflicts and difficulties, do not light up the world they live in.

~Oscar Romero, The Violence of Love

Poem from In a Godward direction: Blind Man’s Testimony

from Tobias Haller at

"In a Godward direction"

a beautiful poem, take a look...

Because I was born blind I didn’t know
I was until they told me I was blind.

I used to sit beside my father in
the synagogue, pressed close against his side,
his arm around my shoulder. Once he let
me touch the velvet-covered Torah as
it passed, guiding my hand in his.

I never made bar mitzvah — couldn’t read,
and didn’t have the heart to memorize.
Still, how I loved the synagogue, especially
the prophets’ words. A few years back I heard
a man read from Isaiah and — I swear —
I thought the words would come true then and there:
“sight to the blind,” he said. Well, one can hope.

When I grew up, I earned my bread by sit-
ting on the corner, holding out my hand.
They knew me in the neighborhood. It wasn’t
a bad living; once a rich young ruler
even put a gold coin in my hand —
a small one, but so heavy next to coppers.

From time to time discussions would take place
about my blindness and its possible cause.
All above my head — in every sense!

Then, of course, one day that man called Jesus
happened by. He said that he was light.
He put mud on my eyes and sent me to
the pool to wash it off. And then I saw.

What was it like to see at first? It looked
like trumpets sound on New Year’s Day, ram’s horn
and brass; it looked like gold feels in the hand —
I think I told you that I felt it once;
like smiles feel on my fingertips. It looked
like velvet felt that time my father, my
small hand in his, pressed it against the Torah,
and the jingling silver sounded round
my ears. A bit like that.

Funny, though,
that when I got back to the street, though I
could see, the neighbors didn’t recognize me.
Scholars grilled me, called my parents, wouldn’t
take my word. And finally they kicked
me out.

Do I miss the synagogue?
I miss the New Year’s trumpets; miss the Torah
scroll, its velvet cover and the silver bells.
I miss the prophets’ words. I miss
my parents.

But I do not miss the end-
less questions on my blindness; I
don’t miss the corner of the street or my
old “friends” and neighbors; I don’t miss the heat
and street-smells and the ache of outstretched arm
and empty hand.

Besides, I saw that man —
the one that said that he was light? He was,
you know. He was the one who gave me sight,
just like the prophet said. He is my Torah
now, my New Year’s Day, my gold, my light,
my father and my God.

Tobias Haller BSG
May 16, 2008

Kudos to two of my students - Morehead Cain Scholar & Jefferson Scholar

Kudos to two of my students who have been awarded the UNC Morehead-Cain Scholarship, and the UVA Jefferson Scholarship! Congratulations to both of these fine young women!

Two Seniors Among Select in the Nation

5/16/2008
For the first time since 1982, two St. Catherine's School seniors accepted the Morehead-Cain Scholarship and the Jefferson Scholarship. Tyler Harris was named a Jefferson Scholar and Caroline Wills Ott was named a Morehead-Cain Scholar.

For the second time in the 118-year history of St. Catherine’s, the school boasts both a Jefferson Scholar and a Morehead-Cain Scholar. Tyler Harris was named a Jefferson Scholar at the University of Virginia while Caroline Wills Ott was named a Morehead-Cain Scholar at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Both girls live in Richmond.

Episcopal School in Dallas is the only other school in the nation in which two students accepted Morehead-Cain and Jefferson scholarships this year. In 1982, two St. Catherine’s students also accepted these two prestigious scholarships.

“St. Catherine's is extremely proud of the academic success achieved by this year's senior class in its entirety,” Head of School Laura Erickson said. “The recognition these two girls have received by winning both the Jefferson and Morehead-Cain Scholar awards is representative of the accomplishments of our entire school. We are very proud of these girls.”

Tyler, who intends to enroll in the School of Commerce (business), is among 33 high school seniors named a Jefferson Scholar. The prestigious, merit-based scholarship program provides stipends to cover the complete cost of attending the university, including tuition, room and board, books and other university-related expenses. It also includes leadership training and foreign travel/study.

Caroline, who has not declared her major, is among 79 young leaders from high schools across the United States – and one of only two from Virginia – to be named this year’s Morehead-Cain Scholars at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Among the largest and most competitive scholarship programs in the United States, the Morehead-Cain pays all expenses for four years of undergraduate study, including the cost of a laptop computer and four summer enrichment experiences.