Yesterday was a good day. The travel gods delivered me to church in plenty of time despite the weekend subway changes. There was a man with a deep, baritone voice seated in the pew behind me, so it was nice to have someone else singing besides me. I was looking forward to going to Dive Bar afterward with Pale male, but we all got the surprise of ( Read more... )

You have to hand it to the folks in Seattle, WA. They don't abandon a lesson plan in mid-stream. This year's East Coast RC Gay Men's Workshop (aka, The January Workshop) took place virtually and within hours of the storming and occupation by force of the nation's Capitol on Wednesday, the 6th and remarkably, it finished the weekend without once ( Read more... )

Tuesday night was a reprise of the previous week, which is to say, we continued on the theme of politics and religion, an easy target, given subsequent events around the election. The only thing that was different was the reading assignment. We made a switch from the survey book, "Theology" by David Ford and turned to the Spiritual Reflection ( Read more... )

And, hopefully this is the last time I ever have to refer to him by his official title ( Read more... )

Finding the right mixture of spirituality and social contact has been an ongoing mystery for the men's group. The best time I've had so far was at the mid-Hudson monastery where Crosby spent some crucial months six years ago. The Men of St. Michael's had to find a way to fit themselves around the prayers rendered round the clock by the resident ( Read more... )

I'll never forget the walk home from an "at table" church meal in early November of 2016. For months the entire congregation had been on an emotional high wire stemming from the protracted contest between the first major party woman nominee for president and her opponent, a nasty caricature of what every small town American hates about New York ( Read more... )

Last Sunday was our annual celebration or, rather recognition, of the role St. Michael's played in the spiritual life of African Americans on the Upper West Side of Manhattan for nearly a half-century with the construction and support of a church edifice dedicated to accomodating black worshippers. It is a celebration frought with baggage from an ( Read more... )

It's not even close anymore. Church is so much more enjoyable now that I'm no longer on the Vestry. And so much has happened since the last Moonshot: Bing and I have never been better buddies; it's the rare e-mail that doesn't get answered right away. And, I think there are some lingering worries about Crosby's future. I mean, it's probably not a ( Read more... )

As the name implies, this workshop has been going on for fifteen years, now. I missed the first one, but, grabbed on to it in the midst of my crisis with Corinne and Daniel and have been to each one subsequently, picking up a key support group along the way. I've always felt that it was of crucial importance not only to me personally, but, to the ( Read more... )

My RC/St. Mike's meter is still at high noon and, in fact, got a significant nudge in the RC direction later yesterday afternoon. I didn't even go to St. Michael's for Mass. I went to Ascension instead. I arrived right inn the middle of the Gloria. Apparently, Mother Liz was just back from vacation and her sermon was almost compelled to cover the ( Read more... )