Johan Bävman’s pictures of Swedish fathers are currently on exhibit at the National Nordic museum in Seattle. Today, I participated in an annotated virtual exhibition, as it were, though the museum is open, with timed, pre-scheduled visits for pandemic prevention purposes, and I may go in person as well. I found the pictures very moving, […]
Hanlon’s Razor
As fear rises at developments in our world, this seems like a good time to remind ourselves of Hanlon’s razor: Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by ignorance. Love is the only power that can transform this world into what we long for it to be.
The Ancestors
I got a late start as I walked out onto the Dungeness Spit, so rather than try for the 9 mile hike to the lighthouse and back, I wandered slowly, looking mostly at the water, remembering my recent insight that the oceans don’t separate me in the Pacific Northwest from my family in Northern Europe […]
Exploring political terminology – why Trump will win in 2020
Disclaimer* My prediction is that Trump will win a second term, and this is why: Trump isn’t a Conservative or a Republican, the way those terms are commonly understood in politics, although he is of course most closely associated with the Republican Party. Trump is a … dualist. In his world, there are good people […]
My Quaker Journey Ends, My Mennonite Journey Begins
I joined the Religious Society of Friends in Norway when I was 18, and for decades, “Quaker” was one of my strongest identifiers. Perhaps too strong, since it took ten years of struggle to acknowledge that I was no longer a Quaker. Even though my theology didn’t – and doesn’t – conceive of a way […]
Standing Firm – Nteka’s Story
1 Corinthians 16:13 (NIV): Be on your guard, stand firm in the faith, be courageous, be strong. Do everything in love. My family went to Botswana to live in 1966, the year the country became independent. At the time it was the 3rd poorest country in the world. My mother was a doctor at the […]
When Is The Exodus Complete?
This week’s common lectionary gospel text is Luke 9:28-36, known as The Transfiguration. In this passage, Jesus climbs a mountain with some of his disciples. Jesus goes alone up to the top of the mountain, and this is what Luke tells us happens next: “While [Jesus] was in prayer, the appearance of his face changed and […]
Questions re American Exceptionalism
These questions arose for me after reading the God’s Politics story recently about white evangelicals believing in American exceptionalism. To my evangelical friends, I’m hoping you can teach me a little more about a couple of things. Firstly, growing up as I did in Norway, the idea that the USA is favored in some special way […]
A Milestone Interfaith Event
On Tuesday, October 26th we held a dedication of the Reflection Room at Swedish/Edmonds, where I work as hospital chaplain. It has been a two-year process to get the room built, decorated and dedicated as “A place to worship, reflect, meditate, pray, seek, or just be.” I could write page after page about everything that’s in […]
A New Way of Living
Hah, and I thought May and June were busy….. I was promoted in mid June, and my new responsibilities mean I do more administration – lots more – and have fewer patient visits and do less spiritual direction. I discovered a funny thing: management and administrative tasks don’t lend themselves as well to blog-worthy reflections. […]
Susanne Kromberg's Musings 