July 2011 – 300 words a day

Luck of the draw.

They drew lots. That’s how groups of priests ended up working the late shift. It’s how anyone ends up working the late shift. Hardly anyone picks it. Instead, work instead of sleep picks people. The novices. The newbies. The exhausted. The ones who draw the short matchstick, the broken one. Every night, fulfilling duty. It’s […]

by Jon Swanson

all the answers

I started the day trying to figure out why a computer wasn’t connecting to the Internet. I powered a couple things off and back on. I took a different computer and connected it directly to the modem. I was working to identify what the problem wasn’t so I could figure out what it was. One […]

by Jon Swanson

But sometimes it’s hard to go to church.

Responding to this survey, one of you asked: What do you do if you don’t like to go to church on Sunday mornings? What do you do if every time you try and go to church the service makes you cry so you get embarrassed and don’t go back? What do you do if someone […]

by Jon Swanson

three Andrews and Christian fundamentalism.

(Note: Before you start, I need to tell you that this post is about 1400 words. It’s like four days of posts. But I can’t break it up. So you can skip it if you want to. And come back tomorrow. I’ll see an editor.) I grew up not going to movies. There was a […]

by Jon Swanson

A litany for the last Monday in July

Leader: Our God, it’s Monday. All: Hear our prayer, O Lord. A: I’m empty, O God, as empty as the heart of the widow walking next to the coffin of her only son. Do remember her, Jesus? No options? No hope? You healed her son. Please raise my heart. All: Hear his prayer, O Lord. […]