Very grateful to share this sermon from Paul Walker, Rector at Christ Church in Charlottesville: If there is one thing most human beings are good at, it’s worrying. Even a day set aside to give thanks can become a day set aside for extra worry. Every year, our family has a Wednesday Thanksgiving dinner with another […]
What to Wear at Easter: A Sermon on the Resurrection
This sermon was delivered yesterday by Paul Walker, Rector at Christ Episcopal Church in Charlottesville. Happy Easter, everyone! Welcome to Easter Day at Christ Church! Whether you are here every week or just once a year, Easter is THE day to come to church. The news we have to tell just doesn’t get any better […]
A Message from Christ Church in Charlottesville
As a follow-up to his recent sermon, here is the message Rector Paul Walker sent to his parishioners at Christ Church in Charlottesville—relevant for all of us left shocked and dismayed by the events of last Saturday. Dear Friends, Evil is not a word to be used lightly. But it is a word that is […]
Jesus Comes Aboard the Ship of Fools: A Sermon for Charlottesville
The following incredibly powerful and comforting sermon was delivered yesterday by Paul Walker, Rector at Christ Episcopal Church in Charlottesville (next door to the rallies from this past weekend). Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed […]
Not Made for These Times: Looking for Answers in 4 O'Clock Moments
Every winter in the seasonal slump of dismal gray, I find myself turning to the same source of hope—the sunny sound walls of the Beach Boys. Growing up in the millennial generation, I was the only one who considered Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson’s voices to be the harmonies of my childhood. Don’t get me […]
Trying to Curb Your Own Series of Unfortunate Events
I’m on the tail end of a nasty cold that has as one of its side effects existential nihilism. To add insult to injury, this particular bug coincided with an anniversary date of the loss of a parent. Reflecting over the 15 years since that event, a lot more bad stuff has happened. In other […]
God in The Storm
Like you, I’ve currently been trying to move through season three of House of Cards as slowly as possible, and not watch the whole thing in one sitting. It’s hard to do, even though this season is a lot less binge-friendly than the first two. And it’s hard to do predominantly because the Underwood’s ‘house […]
NOW AVAILABLE! Issue 4 of The Mockingbird: The Work and Play Issue
We’re happy to announce that Issue 4 is now available! Here’s our Table of Contents for the Work and Play Issue. Needless to say there’s lots to be excited for, so if you’re looking for a subscription, now’s the time, because this is also the last time we’ll be selling subscriptions for the price they’re at now ($42).
This is what we’re looking into in this, the Work and Play Issue: We have interviews with best-selling time-researcher (and working mother), Brigid Schulte, as well as the Nigerian theologian of play, Nimi Wariboko. We’re covering a wide variety of topics, from freemium gamers and Fitbit philosophy, to happy jobs and Las Vegas tragedies. There’s an essay on the real meaning of sabbath, and a self-improvement sermon against self-improvement. We also have two new works from the matchless poet Mark Jarman—it’s all too much to name, really. In all of these, though, a common thread remains: one that marks out workweek from weekend, the world of demand from the world of freedom. Along this boundary lie much the world’s troubles, but also its hope, for a little bit of thought, and a lot bit of tomfoolery.
THE WORK AND PLAY ISSUE
Optimization Nation: Deprogramming the Cult of Productivity by David Zahl
The Confessional
“In a Bookstore,” A Poem by Mark Jarman
Sabbath Time: In a World of Work, an Invitation to Rest by Phillip Cary
For the Record: Games for Non-Gamers by Jamin Warren
The Overwhelm: A Conversation on a Modern Mandate with Brigid Schulte
Happy: America’s Favorite Feeling Goes to Work by Ethan Richardson
For the Record: Nine Comic Books for Your Inner-Child
God So Loved the World of Warcraft: Role-Playing Games and the Labor of Spirituality by Will McDavid
The Logic of Grace Is the Logic of Play: A Q&A with Nimi Wariboko
“Confession,” A Poem by Mark Jarman
Auden, Big Data, and the Accelerated Grimace of Modern America by Evan Brush
For the Record: Eight Must-See ESPN 30 for 30s
De Profundis: Our Past Is Prologue by Michael Nicholson
The End of the Never-Ending Voice, A Sermon by Paul Walker
Hopelessly Devoted: Second Corinthians Chapter One Verse Nineteen and Twenty
Back from Texas, here’s yesterday morning’s devotion, just a day late. It comes from Paul Walker. For all the promises of God find their Yes in Him. (2 Corinthians 1:19-20, ESV) “Yes” is a gracious word. Yes, please come in. Yes, please stay for dinner. Yes, I would love to go with you. Yes, of […]
A Reflection on the Fall, or Sisyphus vs. Jack Vincennes
This is the transcript of a talk given over the weekend by Mbird’s Will McDavid at The Olmsted Salon in NYC, loosely based on our recent Eden and Afterward: A Mockingbird Guide to Genesis. For the audio, go to the Olmsted site here, and to order the book, go here. I first want to speak a […]
Hopelessly Devoted: Matthew Chapter Sixteen Verses Twenty Four Through Twenty Five
This entry from The Mockingbird Devotional comes to us from Paul Walker: For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (Matthew 16:24-25, ESV) Jesus describes the two realities of human existence (and ultimately there are only two): trust in yourself and suffer eternal […]
The Chimera of Identity in an Anxious World - Paul Walker
NYC Conference video number three here we go, from the inestimable Paul Walker:
The Chimera of Identity in an Anxious World ~ Paul Walker from Mockingbird on Vimeo.