How I'm Celebrating the 250th year anniversary of the United States
The most important thing we can do is VOTE
My Journal - Agatha Nolen
Putting God First and the Holy Relationships that flow from Our First Love
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Holy Saturday Thoughts: Let’s Not Rush to the Tomb
“After these things, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, though a secret one because of his fear of the Jews, asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission; so he came and removed his body. Nicodemus, who had at first come to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds. They took the body of Jesus…
The Stages of My Faith: Step 1
I just moved from Nashville, TN to Durham, NC a few months ago and did my best to sort through a lifetime of furniture and keepsakes to decide what I would keep as I was downsizing. I did a pretty good job, but there were still six boxes in the attic that I didn’t get a chance to sift through, so I told the movers, “just put them on the truck” thinking I’d get to them when I moved. I’d been warned…
I'll Admit It. I Was Wrong.
When I first joined FACEBOOK in 2011, I knew that I was a bit late to the party, but I was writing a memoir and launched a website ( www.agathanolen.com) and wanted to be able to share my stories and photographs with everyone who was interested in dialoguing about our relationship with God and the relationships that flow from that first love. I friended friends, friends of friends, and even remote…
Yes. I'm Fine. Thank you for Asking.
Ten days ago, I made a dramatic life-change. I moved from Nashville where I had lived for 22 years to Durham, NC where I went to school for the past four. I was in a Master of Divinity program in a hybrid format where I continued to live in Nashville but visited Durham one week each in January, May, and August and then participated in the remainder of the classes on-line via zoom. My “intensive…
To Think Like a Priest
The Rt. Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, Bishop of Washington (Photo courtesy of Washington National Cathedral) I’ve just completed a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree at Duke University in Durham NC, and I am grateful for the knowledge and wisdom that I have gained from my professors and students in my cohort. Since we were hybrid students (going for Immersion Weeks three times per year with zoom…
We Are Not All Children of God
I see it often on social media, “We are all children of God.” It is meant to be an inclusive statement to provide assurance that God does not discriminate, loving some of us and hating others. In our readings on Pentecost Sunday, there is a nuance that I hadn’t thought of before. We are all made in God’s image, but we are not all children of God. God is the creator of all things and therefore is…
Praise for Our Senses
As I approach my graduation at Duke Divinity School, I’ve been reflecting on some of my class assignments over the past four years. Many of them were very academic papers comparing historical doctrines, or exploring Christianity in another part of the world (in the class I took we explored Christianity in Latin America). Other assignments were more formative, encouraging us to deepen our personal…
Good Friday Thoughts: Let’s Not Rush to the Tomb
The Descent from the Cross, Rubens (1612-1614), Cathedral of Our Lady, Antwerp, Belgium “After these things, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, though a secret one because of his fear of the Jews, asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission; so he came and removed his body. Nicodemus, who had at first come to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a…
The Fourth Leg
When I joined the Episcopal Church in 2008, I heard about the three-legged stool. The teaching discussed that the three sources of authority are scripture, reason and tradition. It made sense to me that you would not rely on just one or the other, and three legs gave it balance. The Rev. Chuck Collins in an article in The Living Church in 1998 took issue with the three-legged stool concept in that…