My Journal - Agatha Nolen

The most important thing we can do is VOTE

“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 bod...

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...

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...

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 we...

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 class...

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 t...

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 s...

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, bringi...

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...

The Church of the Holy Trinity is a historic Episcopal Church in downtown Nashville just blocks from the Rescue Mission. It was established in 1852 as a "free" church for Black Episcopalians in the area known as South Nashville. It was listed on the National Historic Register in 1972 and will celebrate its 175th anniversary in 2027. In preparation for a year of celebrations, Rector Bill Dennler ha...

Saint Agatha by Cariani (Giovanni Busi) (1485-1547),1516 - 1517National Galleries, Scotland What's in a name? One way to have a new group introduce themselves is to ask them to tell a story of how they got their name. Many are named after family members, but I wasn't; I was named after a Saint. I was raised Roman Catholic and my mother's due date was February 5. In the Roman Catholic cal...

Rabbits Making Mochi in the MoonHarada KeigakuWoodblock printCa. 1850, Courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (A mochi is a Japanese rice cake) We have wonderful exhibitions at the Frist Art Museum in Nashville and currently, I’ve been leading tours for Journey Through Japan: Myths to Manga. The exhibition will be on display through February 16, 2025. In the first gallery is...

I’ve always been an early riser, and I’ve adopted the habit of saying Morning Prayer from the Daily Office since I became an Episcopalian in 2008. It is part of my commitment to my Rule of Life (Chapter 18) that I have developed as a Fellow of The Society of St. John the Evangelist, an Episcopal monastery in Cambridge, MA. A few years ago, I discovered a free app on my phone that makes keepin...

I’ve joined a group that is studying Celebrating Abundance for Advent. It is a book of devotions from Walter Brueggemann. Tuesday’s reading for the first week of Advent is titled, “Celebrating the New Abundance”. Last week I had been contemplating how I wanted to live more out of sufficiency (having enough) rather than the abundance of having more than I need.  The devotion for Tuesday t...

“Gathering of the Manna,” James Tissot (1896-1902), The Jewish Museum, New York City I just finished the best class at Duke Divinity, “Old Testament and Leadership” taught by Dr. Ellen Davis and Dr. Sarah Musser. In addition to challenging readings and wonderful guest speakers, I realized that most of my religious life had been spent learning about the New Testament even though it is only 25% of t...

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash Another Immersive Week at Duke is complete. I’m enrolled in the Master of Divinity program at Duke University. It is in a hybrid format, so I travel to Durham three weeks of the year to start each term and then have weekly zoom classes. I’m a senior looking forward to graduation in May 2025. This term I’m taking a class in Old Testament in Leadership with Dr....

I’ve started a new book, Why You Can’t Pay Attention and How to Think Deeply Again, by Johann Hari. I’ve been intrigued for a number of years with the concept of “multi-tasking”. Do I really get more done when I’m engaged with five simultaneous projects? Or what about the four books on my nightstand? Would I be better off reading one at a time? Johann’s book starts out with the author taking...

This Thursday is Ascension Thursday on the church calendar which marks 40 days after Easter and the day that Christ was taken up into heaven (Luke 24:51).  Growing up Roman Catholic, this was a Holy Day of Obligation where you had to attend a mass, and in some European countries it is celebrated as a public holiday (e.g. Germany, France, Austria, Belgium, and the Netherlands). Ascension Thurs...

I’ve had a disordered relationship with food for all of my adulthood. It began after my brother died when I was seven and I developed stomach aches every morning at school. My teacher would take me down to the school nurse each morning for cinnamon toast until I felt better. (I came from a small town, and everyone knew everyone; my teachers were all friends with my mother). Although the morning fe...

Incorporating simplicity into my life isn’t a one-time “cleaning out.” I want it to be a lifestyle change that makes a difference for years to come. This week I am tackling my pantry. It isn’t huge, but it’s stuffed with assorted non-perishables that I’ve acquired over the years since the pandemic. In some cases, it was easy to buy “giant-sized” purchases from Amazon and Costco during the pandemic...

This coming week I’m going to be focusing on Simplicity in Possessions. I know that this isn’t easy and will actually be a commitment to a lifestyle change, but I need to start somewhere! I realized that I have areas of my house where I have stored away things purchased during the pandemic. Some of them are “case quantities” of everyday items that were only available from Amazon or Costco in...

image from wayhomestudio on Freepik I’m in the M.Div. program at Duke Divinity and this term I’ve chosen by personal focus to be on Simplicity as a spiritual discipline. Last week I looked at “Simplicity of Time”, wanting to return my relationship with time to a place of holiness. In reviewing Guenther’s chapter on simplicity, I kept coming back to her comment, “do I really need to know what the w...

The Holiness of Time, SSJE.org Margaret Guenther in her book, The Practice of Prayer, says that simplicity calls for a “radical trust that does not come easily.” I’m glad to hear that it’s not second nature; I’ve been trying to lead a more simple life for decades. I either fail miserably or seem to have success for awhile and then slip back into bad habits. Maybe I’m looking at simplicity fro...

 On December 27th each year, we celebrate the Feast Day of St. John the Evangelist, writer of the Gospel and letters, and who many believe also wrote Revelation. St. John’s Gospel is my favorite as I find it to be a constant encouragement and reminder that I am loved by God; I don’t have to earn my way into heaven. The readings for the day include the story from John’s Gospel (21:9-...