Friday Dinner, Hutchmoot ’22: Burgers

Editor’s Note: This year’s return to an in-person Hutchmoot gathering also allowed our favorite chef/writer John Cal to bless us with his thoughtful essays before each evening meal. What follows is his Friday night pre-meal address from Hutchmoot ’22. You can read his opening night essay here.

Pitfalls to Experiencing God’s Presence

“Sure, okay, let’s say for argument’s sake God is always present and at work in my life…what difference does that make? What about all the times I can’t feel God’s presence or see God’s work? You telling me all this feels like a taunt; like something I’d wish were true but I can’t find any way to access that truth in my life!”

The Wingfeather Saga TV series is here!

I’ve been watching The Wingfeather Saga come together since the beginning and I’m so glad that today the public finally gets to see what the animation team has been up to. Tonight, episode one will be available to everyone everywhere via the Angel Studios app. [Apple Store | Android]

A Thanksgiving Liturgy for Feasting with Friends

This Thanksgiving we are reminded that the past two years have robbed us of many feasts with friends. With so much lost, it reminds us anew of the importance of gathering together. Wherever you find yourself this year, we invite you to remember with us that “nothing good and true and right will be lost forever. All good things will be restored.” To that end, we offer you this liturgy from Every Moment Holy. 

A Letter to the Middle

I was at a friend’s house a couple of months ago, and we were sitting around a dinner table talking together when I started to feel sick. I’m allergic to most things, so for a while, I thought the problem was just too much dust or cat hair, but then I started to sweat and my brain clouded over. I couldn’t see straight. I couldn’t hear what the others were saying. My stomach swelled and then my liver and kidneys overloaded; it was all I could do not to double over in pain.

Download: The Every Moment Holy Advent Journal

Having grown up in a non-liturgical tradition, Advent as a practice is new for me. 

Though my mama handcrafted beautiful felt nativity-scene Advent calendars for us, we couldn’t control ourselves and always thought the calendar worked best with all the pieces at once. Rearranged. Over and over. She didn’t seem to mind. 

Thursday Dinner, Hutchmoot ’22: Thom Kha

Editor’s Note: This year’s return to an in-person Hutchmoot gathering also allowed our favorite chef/writer John Cal to bless us with his thoughtful essays before each evening meal. What follows is his Thursday night pre-meal address from Hutchmoot ’22.

Frederick Buechner, God’s Handkerchief Part 2: The View From Buechner’s Window

Note: You can read the first part of Frederick Buechner, God’s Handkerchief by Jason Gray here. Read on for the second part, “The View from Buechner’s Window”.

Hearing Scripture Anew, In a Chorus of Poetic Voices

Poetry helps us see things in a new light. Whether the subject of a poem is a thing, an experience, an emotion, or something else, the care with which the poet chooses her words helps us to see that subject in a completely different way. Poetry cannot be read fast; a poem challenges us to sit with its words, to pay attention, to contemplate what the poet has offered us in these words carefully woven together. Of course, none of these tasks come easily in our technological world, where speed and efficiency reign supreme. 

The Guild Conference: For the Craft and Character of Artists

It’s always a joy to highlight the meaningful work of friends, and we’re excited to support a new one-day event happening soon in Raleigh, North Carolina called The Guild Conference.

Welcome to Hutchmoot 2022

As many of you know, the original Rabbit Room was in the back of a pub called The Eagle and Child, which was right across the street from another Inklings haunt called The Lamb and Flag. From what I read, Lewis and Tolkien changed pubs because they were annoyed that the Eagle and Child had introduced a dartboard. I happen to agree that a good pub’s goodness is due to its hospitality to good conversation. Loud music and television screens and party games have no place in the pubs of my dreams. 

The Habit of Hope

On most weekend afternoons the year I turned seven, you could find me in my room pacing the purple shag rug while a library record spun on my old turntable. That summer, the last track on the b-side of a recording of Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf was on heavy rotation. It’s the first time I remember hearing the story of Pandora’s Box, and I was enthralled.