The Dean’s Corner
Our Spiritual Home
Western North Carolina is my spiritual home. For several decades I would spend at least a week in Madison County, near the riverside depot, Marshall, at a camp that served …
Dreamcasting Part 2
How is God calling Trinity Cathedral to serve, pray, and gather in the years to come? What does embodied love look like? What does faithful stewardship of our resources require …
Truth, Hospitality, and our Haitian Neighbors
On TikTok, it’s a source of entertainment: the words of a candidate, absurd falsehoods about migrant populations abducting and consuming pets, set to a dance beat. It makes us laugh, or perhaps just allows a …
The Equitable City
The history of housing and racial injustice in Cleveland was not an accident. As we learned several years ago through Undesign the Redline, an interactive exhibit on economic injustice held at Trinity …
Opening our Hearts
The Christian life is about opening our hearts and the transformation of our world into something that reflects the image and imagination of God. The vocation of a congregation – …
Come, Labor On
I write this from my downtown office over the screams of fighter jets flying past the Cathedral: Labor Day in Cleveland means, among other things, the air show, so the …
The Coffee Shop Returns!
When Trinity Commons was envisioned more than two decades ago, we wisely created a space for a coffee shop to serve as the hearth and heartbeat of the building. Throughout …
Go for the Gold (and Silver, and Bronze)
One of my favorite cyclists did not win his Olympic race. On the second day of this year’s games, the best cyclists in the world took their turns racing in a 30+ kilometer sprint through and around the city of Paris in the men’s time …
The Gift of Acolytes in Worship
One of my favorite things to do in churches is to train new acolytes. Whether it’s with youth or adults, going through the steps of serving at the altar is …
What is a Canon?
“We, will not boast beyond limits but will keep within the field that God has assigned to us.” (2 Corinthians 10:13 NRSVUE). In Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, he assures the …
The Heart of our Campus
The wood-paneling and millwork is sumptuous. The space is quiet, warm, and speaks of a robust history that spans more than a century. It binds our life as a congregation …
Trinity’s Great Hall
One of the things I loved most about college and graduate school was the presence of stately rooms that were simultaneously witnesses to history and functional places where life still happened. Sometimes …
The One-on-One Work of Democracy
Democracy is hard work. It’s far more than voting, far more than watching political debates, and far more than sharing on social media what makes us excited or upset in …
Grace, Peace & Liberty
Grant, we beseech you, that we and all the people of this land may have grace to maintain our liberties in righteous and peace. Blessings to each of you on …
A New Day
On the eve of the election for presiding bishop, the dean of my seminary welcomed us at an alumni event by reminding us of the importance of the occasion. For …
The Church Gathers
Members from across the Episcopal Church have begun to gather in Louisville, KY for the 81st general convention. The General Convention is more than a gathering that happens every three years: it is …
A New Presiding Bishop
This summer the Episcopal Church will elect our next Presiding Bishop, who will lead us through the next nine years of ministry and transformation. This is a time of uncertainty …
Casting a Vision
There are seasons in our life when we bring our dreams and our generosity alongside all the gifts of those who came before us, to co-create something that is new, …
The Audacity to Expand the Circle
Communities of faith each have their own “DNA:” distinct qualities present since the church was founded that are expressed throughout time as core values. When a church is at its …
Our True Mother
The image of God as a Mother is not new. In Isaiah, God says, “As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you.” Dame Julian of Norwich wrote …
You’re Grounded
“You are grounded.” The phrase can mean a number of things. A child can be grounded, forbidden to leave their place of residence for any non-essential activity, no social life …
Renewal & Gratitude
Thirteen years ago I was fortunate to attend a conference called CREDO, a week of renewal and discernment that’s part of the ongoing development of Episcopal priests. It was a …
Among the Trees
Overwhelmed by work in front of computer screens, many people in Japan in the 1980’s headed out to the wilderness. They found comfort and energy simply by walking in nature, …
Greeting at the Door
In the church I served in North Carolina, we were visited for a stretch of several weeks by a young man whose behavior was erratic and unsettling. We welcomed him …
Cognitive Resonance
I was in a coffee shop writing a sermon several weeks ago when I overheard someone speaking about their parents’ Christian faith. I didn’t hear the context, but I did …
The Downward Path
The way of grace is not upward, to places of power and status, but downward, towards those who hunger, suffer, or who weep. This is the path that walk with …
The “Organizing” Part of Community Organizing
I’m so grateful to Trinity’s Greater Cleveland Congregations (GCC) Core Team for leading a campaign of one-on-one conversations to help us discern where Trinity’s passion and capacity for social justice …
Test Driving Realm
While traveling this week, I had some time between flights to take our new congregational communication platform, Realm, out for a test drive. You know what? It was really useful…and …
The Cost of Great Love
When Jesus says to Peter and the disciples that they must take up their cross and follow him, he was saying that speaking truth, and living faithfully for others, often …
Essential Tools For Connection
Let’s turn our phones and tablets into powerful tools for building our faith community! I am old enough to remember phone books, spiral-bound church directories, and even things like kitchen …
Next Steps in The Battle for Democracy
When Khalilah Worley of Greater Cleveland Congregations (GCC) joined me for last Sunday’s Dean’s Forum, she shared something striking: even as GCC has had great success on particular issues, the …
The Battle for Democracy
As Americans and people of faith, we hold sacred our right to vote. Our democratic values call us not only to honor each person’s perspective and voice, but to work …
A Season of Belovedness & Renewal
Trinity Cathedral is at an exciting crossroads. From growing attendance to new programs and increased giving, we’re emerging from the pandemic fueled by a renewed spirit and several years of …
House Bill 68 – Response from the Dean
As a Cathedral Church that passionately affirms the belovedness of every human being, that we are each created in the image of God, and that our dignity cannot be taken …
The Gift of the Eleven
I cannot imagine ministry without the leadership of women. I have been raised up by women who are priests, I have served alongside women who celebrated Eucharist and I have …
Gather, Transform, Send
Archbishop William Temple referred to the church as “the only institution that exist for people who are not its members.” This is true, but the paradox is that the more …
Doing Our Work
Let’s do the work. A coalition of churches in my previous hometown created an ongoing antiracism program they called “Doing our Work.” Churches from across the community gathered for shared …
The Work of the People
It takes about 200 people to lead our Cathedral’s Sunday morning worship, from choir members to clergy, ushers and acolytes, and everyone else who pitches once or twice (or four …
Hope Amid the Rubble
In moments of vulnerability, when our hearts are open and we are willing to follow the wild and surprising path of the Holy Spirit, God comes to us. God’s presence …
Without Shame or Fear
Can you imagine living your life without shame or fear? It seems like so much of our public life is rooted in shame. Brené Brown, a New York Times Bestselling …
Celebrating Todd Wilson
We love to celebrate good things. Nothing quite draws a crowd like a bishop ordination or a baptism Sunday. We gather eagerly at events like new member liturgies and Confirmation …
Faithful, Healthy, and Effective
Let’s begin again. This Sunday marks the beginning of a new liturgical year, when we once again tell the story of Christ’s incarnation, passion, and resurrection through the feasts and …
Remember That You are Soil
Without planning it, a common theme ran through two classes I taught at Trinity this past week. On Sunday I led the weekly bible study on the Old Testament, where …
Meet Me Here
Meet me here, where the old fence ends, and the horizon begins. Craig Hella Johnson’s oratorio, Considering Matthew Shepherd, transforms one of the most painful and traumatic events in recent …
Democracy in Action
This past year I watched democracy in action, and it wasn’t always pretty. About 18 months ago, the school board of Shaker Heights announced a dramatic plan to reshape our …
Looking Beyond Borders: A Call to Compassion
Dear Friends, As followers of Jesus, we are called to see borders differently than the powers and principalities of this world. While invisible lines that divide nations and peoples matter …
Abundance . . . and Transparency
Folks tend to have feelings about stewardship – aka church fundraising – that are as strong as their feelings about money in general. To some it’s something to be spoken …
The Truth Will Set Us Free
Back before he became Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, Bishop Michael Curry had a phrase that he used frequently: “I want the Episcopal Church in North Carolina to look …
The Healing Power of Love
Nearly three decades ago, the Rev. Becca Stevens opened a home for five women survivors of trafficking, prostitution, and addiction. In making this committment, she quickly recognized that financial self-sufficiency …
Dean Owens Responds to Policies Banning LGBTQ+ Expression
One of the highlights of this past year for me was gathering, not just as a cathedral congregation but as the Episcopal Diocese of Ohio, at the Pride in the …
Let’s Tell a Better Story
by The Rev. Adrienne Koch “Canada warns LGBT travellers of US risks” That was the title of an article in my BBC news feed this week that first shocked me, …
Quiet Evangelism
Most everyone who lives on my block knows what I do for a living. We come from a diverse group of backgrounds and professions, and I tend to lead with …
The Gift of a Will
Recently my wife and I revised our wills. There had been some changes in our family, and we had not actually made any changes when first moving to Ohio, so …
Seasons of Life
The hardest year in my previous parish was also one of the most joyful. It was particularly difficult because it was one of those years where we just had a …
The Dignity of Democracy: No on Issue 1
On August 8th, Ohio voters will decide on Issue 1, which would raise the threshold of approving constitutional amendments to 60%, up from its current required simple majority. At Trinity …
A Cathedral in Time
This past week has been one of the few “slow” times at the cathedral that I can remember, as so many staff members and congregational folks were away or simply …
A Message from Dean Owens: Supreme Court Affirmative Action Decision
Years ago, I visited Harvard’s campus to consider attending divinity school there. I remember walking through the quad filled with stately centuries-old buildings, anchoring an elite institution where so many …
All People, Created Equal
Each year our nation celebrates Independence Day to mark the signing of a document in 1776 that many regard as the day when our country was born. It was a …
A Fond Farewell
One gift of being an Episcopal church is that we are not a single congregation (or cathedral) located in one place, but rather, each congregation or ministry is an expression …
More Faithful, Healthy and Effective
Congregational development is at the heart of what ministry leaders do. I am grateful that our vestry and staff and mission team leaders are constantly doing the work of prayerful …
An End to Gun Violence
We can end gun violence. Each year 43,000 Americans are shot and killed. More than 75,000 more are wounded. Though shootings happen every day, it seems that every few weeks …
Many Voices, One Faith
When the Holy Spirit came down upon the apostles and the church was born, in tongues of flame and words in many languages, the first followers of Jesus learned something …
From Affirmation to Invitation
You can imagine how good I felt when Kimayo, a musician and artist from New Hampshire, told me why she wanted to perform at Trinity Cathedral. She said, “I want …
From Death to Life
This week began with the news of yet another mass shooting. Nine dead in a Dallas, Texas suburb, a shocking figure when one considers how many broken hearts, how many …
The Dynamic Journey
“No one ever steps into the same river twice. For it’s not the same river and they are not the same person.” When the ancient writer Heraclitus wrote this many …
Decarbonizing Cleveland
This past week, I joined community and civic leaders at Sustainable Cleveland’s decarbonization summit, to learn about the work of environmental sustainability and to connect with those who are doing …
An Easter Message From Dean Owens
I’ll tell a little secret of ministry: we don’t write our easter sermons on the day of resurrection itself. That would be great, of course, to journey through the emotional …
Miriam’s Cup
Each year the American Jewish Committee here in Cleveland hosts an interfaith seder, where leaders from faith communities throughout the area gather to celebrate the story of liberation from slavery. …
Do You Want to be Well?
It’s time to stop using the word Love. We should also stop using the phrases beloved community and racial reconciliation as well, it turns out. This is what we heard …
The Imprint of the Divine
This past weekend my father visited to see his grandchildren’s school plays. This got him reflecting on plays he’d seen over the years, including plays at his all-male high school …
The Imprint of the Divine
This past weekend my father visited to see his grandchildren’s school plays. This got him reflecting on plays he’d seen over the years, including plays at his all-male high school …
Mystery and Transcendence
What if each Sunday, rather than gathering to sing and pray and bask in the mystery of the liturgy, we merely sat down to talk about God? Setting aside the …
Make a Plan for Lent
Sometimes spiritual growth happens best with a little bit of preparation, and Lent can be a rich season of spiritual growth. It helps to be reminded a few days before …
Lay Down Your Sword
Lay down your sword, the Savior said; He healed the wounded with his word. Wisdom is more than weapons of war. Lay down your sword, the Savior said. With another …
The Alchemies of Racecraft
Race doesn’t actually exist. Across the scientific and sociological spectrum, we see time and again that the idea of separate “races” has been a historical construct (aka fiction) of the …
The Dean’s Christmas Message
In the story if Jesus’ birth, time clearly matters but its meaning is hard to pin down. Of course, time comes up quite often: we know that Mary had reached …
I Stand at the Door, and Knock
You are the doorkeeper of your soul, and how you mind that door shapes your whole spiritual life.
The Dean’s Corner: A New Bishop, A Richer Tapestry
When we elect a new bishop this Saturday, we add to the rich tapestry of faithful leadership throughout history.
Those We Love but See No Longer
When we sing out on All Saints’, when we remember the loved ones we’ve lost, we’re really re-telling the Easter story. That can be joyful and heartbreaking at the same …
The Dean’s Corner: Hidden Lessons
A bishop election isn’t just about putting the right person in the cathedra. It’s about listening for how the Holy Spirit is moving today, and some of those clues will …
The Dean’s Corner: How to Decide
Choosing a new bishop is a very big decision. In this and other life-changing decisions in our lives, how do we make decisions that are faithful and wise?
The Dean’s Corner: Sacred Realignment
The dean shares a message about generosity and giving.