My Journal - Agatha Nolen

I’ve just returned from my second hike of the Camino de Santiago in Spain. I had such fond memories of my first trip in 2019, I wanted to go back since the day I returned. On the first trip I had gone not knowing anyone on the trip who then became my friends. This time I wanted to return to show friends the beauty and romance of the Spanish landscape and its people. One thing I missed on my f...

It was hot this Summer in Nashville, like miserably hot. I had stopped walking in my neighborhood because of the heat; even my gold retrievers thought the pavement was too hot for their paws. We’d play a bit in the backyard, but then they’d even beg to come back in the house.Today it was a delightful 61 degrees in the early morning and my church has re-started a Walk in Love Gathering at Edwin War...

I always enjoy hearing from my readers, but this recent email is special: from Barbara, a “wife, mum and nanna in the UK.” Barbara writes: I just wanted to send you a little message to tell you what a blessing your book “You are loved: praying with John” is being to me. I am fairly new to praying with beads, and recently felt a drawing in my heart to grow in my belovedness, and to pray with S...

It is good to read the stories in the New Testament and have a general idea of the meaning or lesson that the Gospel writers were trying to convey in capturing the teachings of Jesus. But it is even more meaningful when you see the story being lived out in our modern world. The Church of the Holy Trinity is an Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Tennessee located in downtown Nashville just a f...

This Thursday of Holy Week is known as Maundy Thursday where we commemorate the Last Supper where Jesus celebrated his final meal with his disciples. After washing His disciples’ feet as a sign of humility, Jesus gave them a new commandment, “"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another" (John 13:34).  In Nashvill...

We wonder why it seems like God doesn’t hear our cries. With Lent around the corner, I’m reminded of days of fasting and abstinence growing up in the Roman Catholic church. There was a sacrifice involved, but it was hard to not forget and accidentally eat meat on a Friday. It didn’t seem that fasting brought me any closer to God.In Isaiah 58, we hear the prophet crying out as it seems that God isn...

At Duke Divinity School, the Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health offers monthly webinars via zoom. I’m looking forward to the one this week: Spirituality, Recovery and Resilience: A Holistic Bio-Psycho-Social Spiritual Approach to Mental Health Treatment. (Anyone can join the free webinar: Tuesday, Jan 31, 2023, 11:00-12:00 CST. Zoom: https://duke.zoom.us/j/94380012247?pwd=aTZ2bUxWSW...

Many of us had high expectations for 2022. After two years of the pandemic, 2022 had to be a better year. I heard a lot of people anxious to get back to “normal” and others vowed to make some changes and be thoughtful in their commitments. We were all relieved that the pandemic had subsided and that we had medications that at least made for lesser symptoms but did 2022 step up to our expectations?...

I feel best when I am serving others. In recognizing and helping with the needs of other people, it forces me to focus on someone other than me. It prevents me from being self-centered and wanting everything to be perfect in my world. I am blessed with abundance in my life, but it is easy for me to take the bountiful harvest for granted. There are always needs to be met if we are willing to look o...

I seem to need to “return to center” frequently these days. The news across the world is tragic with wars and human oppression. The news seems relentless in its ability to promote anxiety. Regularly, I need to stop and to pray, but first I need to settle down into the right frame of mind to listen to what God is speaking to me. When I need to re-center, it is almost always that I turn to music bef...

Santiago and Teresa What if a Sabbath isn’t just about rest? We first encounter Sabbath when God finished the work of creating the world and rested on the seventh day (Gen 2:2). In the next verse, God blesses the seventh day and declares it hallowed (or holy). I’ve heard preaching about the Sabbath for years and many times the admonition is to attend a worship service and reframe from al...

This is a book review of a new book by Norman Wirzba: Agrarian Spirit: Cultivating Faith, Community and the Land (published August 1, 2022)

A man who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years was healed by Jesus in Bethesda (John 5:1-15). In Luke 8:43-48, Jesus healed a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years in Capernaum. I’ve wondered about the healing miracles. How did Jesus choose who to heal? It appears that having faith (or having friends or loved ones with faith) has a lot to do with it. The invalid...

In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul talks about the body as a unit being made up of many parts and that God has arranged them all just the way God wanted them (18). Paul goes on to say, “those parts of the body that seem weaker are indispensable (22). I was glad to re-read these verses this week for reassurance that all God has made is important and all works together to serve God. In March I fell...

I return to thoughts of my time walking the Camino de Santiago in Spain in 2019 almost every day. It was my last great adventure before the pandemic and it was spiritually enriching, clarifying what retirement from full-time employment would look like. It was my Camino that eventually led to a renewed dedication to my faith and enrollment at Duke Divinity School in Durham, NC where I’ve just compl...

I’ve prayed with prayer beads for most of my life, both Roman Catholic rosaries and Anglican prayer beads. I like the flexibility with the Anglican prayer beads because there are no set prayers. Sometimes I pray for 33 of my friends; either for their health or in thanksgiving they are my friends. Other times I pray through the Psalms. It is this flexibility that led me to write: You Are Loved: Pra...

As I embark on my quest to be a better disciple, I’ve been studying core courses at Duke University in Old Testament. I hear lots of Scripture read and preached each Sunday as we follow the Revised Common Lectionary, but I am coming to understand that the parts that we don’t read in the three-year cycle may be as important as those we do, particularly in understanding the character of God.My preco...

The Hebrew word for psalm, mizmôr, has a root that means “to pluck” as in a stringed instrument. The Psalms are meant to be sung as we hear in monasteries throughout the world.The Psalms are divided into five books, perhaps to suggest the division of the Torah, and are also grouped into five types: thanksgiving, royalty, wisdom, lament, and praise.Each Psalm can help us in different situations and...

The story is familiar: this is the season where we await the birth of a baby that changed the world. Growing up Roman Catholic and now Episcopalian, I enjoy the familiar rhythms of the liturgical year. Advent starts the new year with four Sundays before the Christmas season.With Ol’ St. Nick and gift exchanges, everyone knows the story of the baby in the manger born under the stars surrounded by p...

Many churches have “stewardship campaigns” in the fall when church members pledge how much they will be able to monetarily support the church in the coming year. Knowing this amount and applying historical information allows churches to predict both income and expenses to ensure a balanced budget.In Deuteronomy we are instructed to “set aside a tenth” of the following resources: seed, grain, wine,...

Osamu Fujimura by Bruce Herman November 1 is All Saints’ Day where we celebrate the Communion of Saints. We’ve lost many loved ones these past 20 months and we’ve had little time to grieve. This is my last week of Preaching class at Duke Divinity School and I chose to preach on the Gospel reading for today from the Gospel of John. We’ll be moving the actual celebration to next Sunday so that we ca...

This week’s preaching assignment is to provide the CONCLUSION only to a sermon. I chose the Gospel reading in Mark when James and John ask Jesus to be appointed to sit at his right and left hand. This is a short one: 1:44.Here’s the link to the video: Video#4 Agatha Nolen Mark 10_35-45_Trim.mp4 Preaching: In Conclusion from the Gospel of Mark Agatha Nolen Download

This week’s Preaching assignment was to tell something that we know about God (in 3 minutes). I know God is a miracle worker and here is the story.Blessings,Agathalink to video: https://vimeo.com/622565021 Preaching: I Know God is a Miracle Worker Agatha Nolen Download

Our first “full-length” sermon was due this week for Preaching in the Digital Age Class and I’ve included it here. I value your feedback to make me a better preacher. The first 1:50 is a reading of the text from the NRSV and the remainder is the homily. I read from the text, but the sermon was preached without a manuscript. Could you answer the following questions in evaluating my sermon?In one se...

This week in our Preaching in the Digital Age class we learned a lot about technology and its usefulness in spreading the Good News both through worship services and extemporaneous short homilies posted on social media. Father Cathie does a 2 minute “GOOD NEWS” episode each Monday morning on social media. We are learning a lot about what works and doesn’t work, but also to accept that mistakes wil...