Why We Need Night: or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Embrace the Darkness

"Living in a glare of our own making, we have cut ourselves off from our evolutionary and cultural patrimony—the light of the stars and the rhythms of day and night. In a very real sense, light pollution causes us to lose sight of our true place in the universe, to forget the scale of our being, which is best measured against the dimensions of a deep night with the Milky Way—the edge of our galaxy—arching overhead."

-               from Our Vanishing Night

Walking the streets of Bakersfield in the evening, having just moved here from Chicago, I am struck by the lack of street lights surrounding my home. As I walk the dog or walk back from an evening spent at Dagny’s or another downtown destination, I am caught off guard and a little uneasy when I suddenly notice I am surrounded by the darkness. 

Christ the not the Prince of Wales

A sermon on Luke 23.33-43 for Christ the King Sunday, preached @EmmanuelBakerSt.

The Canticle of 'The Office'

A sermon on Malachi 4.1-6 preached @EmmanuelBakerSt.


“My soul cries out with a joyful shout that the God of my heart is great and my spirit sings of the wondrous things that you bring to the ones who wait…My heart shall sing of the day you bring. Let the fires of your justice burn. Wipe away all tears, for the dawn draws near, and the world is about to turn.”

Harry Potter and All the Saints

A sermon on the Lukan Beatitudes, preached on All Saints @EmmanuelBakerSt

I feel it is important for me, as your pastor, to let you know that I have contacted all of the appropriate authorities (including the Bishop’s office both in Glendale and at churchwide headquarters in Chicago) regarding a significant event which took place this past week. I expect that shortly task forces from both of these respective offices will soon descend upon Emmanuel and Bakersfield.

The incident in question took place last Sunday night while we were finishing up our Trunk or Treat event in the church parking lot. Just about all the games and candy had been packed up. The last of the trick or treaters appeared to have left. And just a couple of folks from Emmanuel were closing things up in the Parish Hall. As those last trunk or treaters were leaving the church parking lot, they ran into to a large group of people making their way down the sidewalk on Jefferson. This group of kids approached the other and said, “Hey, they are giving away pumpkins and candy up there,” pointing back at the church.

And then the most unbelievable thing happened, something which would shatter the walls and imaginations of most folks at the ELCA headquarters or just about any church in the United States. This large group of trick or treaters heard the news of pumpkins and candy at Emmanuel and they took off. They started running towards the Parish Hall. There was stampede of probably 20 to 30 kids of various ages running towards the church. [BREATHE] Yes, you heard correctly. This past Sunday there were crowds of people running to (not away from) the church. People were running towards our church.