Being a political consultant in America; Catholic women bring back the veil; Healthy bodies.
Being a political consultant in America; Catholic women bring back the veil; Healthy bodies.
3 Things this week and a poem reading by RS Thomas
Thanks for spending some of your weekend with Things I Wrote Down. I’m jumping right into it even as we jump into the upcoming week.
Here’s Three Things and a poem from Welsh poet R.S. Thomas.
1. Being a political consultant in America
Can you imagine being a political consultant these days in the God-bless-the-USofA?
Day over day. Minute over minute. Week over week in these endless campaign cycles, you gotta always try to top that.
Not even an assassination attempt on a former president stays at the top of the headlines for long. So little sticks.
So, after Kamala's big convention and the media attention at her back, the RFK JR cross over was quite a turn of events.
What, possibly, could happen next? As a spectator from Canada, I’m so intrigued.
I'll be watching Nicole Shanahan’s tweets in the coming days. RFKJ’s former (current?) running mate helped drive the news cycle in the lead up to his endorsement this week, and she's an interesting voice right now amidst all the howling.
2. Catholic women bring back the veil
Over at The Free Press
wrote a piece about the resurgence of the veil among young, Catholic women. There’s, apparently, an “explosion of veiling” as worshippers want to show maximum reverence.
What's happening?
In a culture of me first and myself, this resurgent practice, Kearns reports, is neither directed or defiant, it's something else. So what is it? Find out.
3. Healthy bodies
I've been surprised, lately, by the number of people I know who once attended, but no longer go, to church.
For many it's an age of deconstruction and hurt. And I understand that. Petra shared an article with me as we talked about this phenomenon that framed attendance as a habit.
The habit (and freedom) to regularly connect to a healthy body of believers is definitely a blessing. I’ve been unable to attend for a few weeks because of our busy summer and have been surprised at how much I miss my church.
What a gift.
Nothing groundbreaking here, just an acknowledgement that if you need a healthy body of believers to join regularly, I pray you'll find one where you have fellowship, feel safety, and above all, are free from the pressure to be anything other than yourself and can lay your burdens on the altar to find grace.
A poem
R.S. Thomas, the Welsh poet, writes “In Church,” a poem that captures the paradox of the building and the body, and the mysteries surfaced when it’s empty.
I found a reading he performed of the poem on YouTube and share it below.
It's wonderful.