by Mark Beckwith | Oct 30, 2024 | Uncategorized
“Mine is bigger than yours” is both a verbal statement and a visible sign of male virility. The boasting begins in junior high school when locker rooms become salons for trash talk about size — of one’s ego, performance, or body. For some, boys only...
by Mark Beckwith | Oct 22, 2024 | Uncategorized
For three years in high school I sang with “Up with People”. We performed in front of large and enthusiastic audiences all across the New York metropolitan area. ‘Sing Out Stamford’ (Connecticut) was a local cast; there were three national traveling...
by Mark Beckwith | Oct 16, 2024 | Uncategorized
“We will disappoint you” was the promise made in a sermon during the life-profession ceremony of a friend of mine. He was about to commit himself to the rhythms of life in a monastery, and dedicate his life to prayer. The preacher, who was the senior monk and widely...
by Mark Beckwith | Oct 9, 2024 | Uncategorized
The Day of Atonement, known as Yom Kippur, is the highest holy day of the Jewish calendar. It begins at sundown on Friday, October 11. It was the only day of the year when the high priest entered the holy of holies at the temple in Jerusalem. Atoning sacrifices were...
by Mark Beckwith | Oct 1, 2024 | Uncategorized
Two weeks ago I left my phone and laptop chargers in my hotel room after checking out of a hotel room. The next day I found out that I gotten the date wrong for the funeral of a close friend I had agreed to preach at. These were mistakes of distraction and/or...
by Mark Beckwith | Sep 24, 2024 | Uncategorized
I was in the midst of an intense reverie in my living room at home. I was sixteen years old, a junior in high school. The Tet offensive (February 1968) had just claimed the lives of hundreds of American troops in Vietnam. At the time I supported America’s war...
