February 2025

i thank You God for most this amazing
day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky;and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes

(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun’s birthday;this is the birth
day of life and of love and wings:and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)

how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any—lifted from the no
of all nothing—human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?

(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)

–e.e. cummings

Indeed, how should the “human merely being doubt unimaginable You?”

As the ten darkest weeks of the year like a heavy curtain are lifted, I do thank God for “most this amazing day.” I am one who struggles with darkness, and though by God’s very persistent grace I am able to carry the light through the days that fade toward the winter solstice and back out of it again, it is good to be on the other side for yet another year. Each year at this time I am reminded of the words of Peter:

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. (1 Peter 2:9)

Now the ears of my ears awake. Now the eyes of my eyes are opened.

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Our Hearts are Restless…

We have been reading St. Augustine’s Confessions every Wednesday at noon. It’s been a lively discussion. The story of young Augustine’s ambition, lust, pride, and search for meaning reads like a modern-day coming of age novel even though it is a 1600-year-old prayer.

If you’ve never read The Confessions, I encourage you to give it a whirl. There are many solid translations out there, but the Ignatius Critical Edition (linked below) is what we’re using; we find the footnotes quite helpful. And if you want to make a deep dive, here are a couple of other companion texts for your study:

To kick off your study, I highly recommend this lucid introductory lecture by Dr. K. J. Drake, Academic Dean at Indianapolis Theological Seminary. Dr. Drake graciously travelled up to Alcuin Study Center for the evening to share his insights on the good Bishop of Hippo and his most famous work.

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Tom Holland on Alcuin of York

Speaking of Indianapolis Theological Seminary…

My friend Nicholas Piotrowski, president of Indianapolis Theological Seminary and long-time friend of Alcuin Study Center, sent me a link to the recent episode of Tom Holland’s podcast, The Rest is History. It is part 2 of a 3-part series on Charlemagne, but the second half of this particular episode does a great job of introducing the listener to Alcuin of York, our namesake. I highly recommend you give it a listen; it may provide some insight into why we named our center after him: Here it is on Apple | Here it is on Spotify

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My Altercation with a Delta Fan at My Son’s Basketball Tournament

And since we’ve been reading The Confessions, it seems fitting that I share a confession of my own. I’ve titled it To the Delta Fan in Front of Me at the Delaware County Boys Basketball Tourney.

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Some of Our Current Programming

click on image for more info about the event

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In the past month or so I’ve had the pleasure of speaking at a couple of wonderful churches: Muncie Alliance Church (here in town) and Bean Blossom Community Church (in Brown County). Both welcomed me with open arms, and both have joined in the work of Alcuin Study Center. Perhaps your congregation (or some individuals therein) would like to hear more about our work? No distance is out of the question. I love to travel, and I love to tell our story! Reach out if you’d like me to visit.

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