WALKING EPIPHANY through all the neighborhoods [a wrap up]

The WALKING EPIPHANY series was a complete and surprising joy for me.  I hope for you, too.  Almost every week for the nine (!) years I've been writing on this blog, I think about giving it up for loftier pursuits.  And then something like this series of guest posts breathes new encouragement into me to keep going.  And that's just for me.  To think that maybe one or two of you might also receive fresh grace and encouragement from something you encounter here in my internet home, fuels a deep sense of joy. And to connect dear people to each other -- not just names but thoughts, images, songs, ideas, stories and prayers -- breathes air into my tired being.  And reminds me to keep opening the door here at This Sacramental Life.

So thank you to the gracious guests who shared their neighborhoods with us and blessed our weeks of Epiphany.

Thank you Bob Woodberry for letting us tag along through the snowy daylight at the University of Notre Dame and for showing us the importance of beautiful public spaces that invite us to rest and just be human.  No strings attached.

WALKING EPIPHANY at the University of Notre Dame: neighborhood notes from Bob Woodberry

Thank you, Sarah Day, for reminding us that a wai guo ren can make meaningful connections in the parks and markets of Southwest China.

WALKING EPIPHANY in Southwest China: neighborhood notes from Sarah Day

Thank you, Bruce Benedict, for braving the frozen beaches of Lake Michigan to share the geographical center that is forming your spirit and your growing family.

WALKING EPIPHANY in Holland, MI: neighborhood notes from Bruce Benedict

Thank you, Jim and Pam, for showing us the ways God has been in your neighborhood from the beginning -- in the beauty of culture, the traditions of hospitality and love for children.  Thank you for showing us the imago dei in South Asia.

WALKING EPIPHANY in South Asia: neighborhood notes from Jim & Pam  

Thank you, Micha Boyett, for sharing the light of Outer Sunset, San Francisco -- where the gray settles and sometimes opens up to the miraculous.

WALKING EPIPHANY in San Francisco: neighborhood notes from  Micha Boyett

Thank you, Heidi Dening, for welcoming us on your snowy walk to school and into your hopes for friends among strangers in your new neighborhood.

WALKING EPIPHANY in Toronto: neighborhood notes from Heidi Dening

Thank you, Erin Ware, for inviting us into your neighborhood under the tulip poplars, your church in the wild, your river of peace and new love.

WALKING EPIPHANY on the banks of the Chattahoochie: neighborhood notes from  Erin Ware

Thank you, Kendra Murphy, for inviting us to the neighborhood of your campus, the coffee, symphony, art installations and sunrises through dirty dorm windows.

WALKING EPIPHANY at the University of North Texas: neighborhood notes from Kendra Murphy

Thank you, Ellen Cressman, for reminding us that there's spring hope shining through the winter light and that all seasons are charged with the grandeur of God.

WALKING EPIPHANY in Massachusetts: neighborhood notes from Ellen Cressman

Thank you, Steven Hebbard and Community First!, for restoring our imaginations of neighborhood and a homegrown economy for our suffering neighbors.

WALKING EPIPHANY at Community First, ATX: neighborhood notes from Steven Hebbard

Thank you, Andrea Shields, for welcoming us into the shadow of the Alps, where the Light shines whether or not your pronunciation is correct.  And you are welcomed by strangers who meet every need.

WALKING EPIPHANY in Paris & Albertville: neighborhood notes from Andrea Shields

Thank you, Stephen Henderson, for sharing the gifts of your particular habit of seeing in our bright city of Austin.  Thank you for loving your neighbors, this society of possible gods and goddesses.  

WALKING EPIPHANY in Mueller neighborhood, ATX: neighborhood notes from Stephen Henderson

And, thank you to *culture is not optional for the gift of the daily asterisk* which helped inspire all of our guest posts to see the Light moving into their neighborhoods.

Thank you, too, dear readers for walking Epiphany with us. Now we enter the wilderness of Lent, and we are not alone.