Every priest carries certain saints with them through life. Some are chosen consciously. Others seem to choose us. For me, two saints have stood quietly at the edges of my ministry for many years: Saint Melangell and Saint Kevin of Glendalough. I was ordained to the priesthood on the Feast…
Category: Reflections, Musings & Meanderings
Reflections and musings from my meanderings in these here Ozark Mountains: life, love, loss, laughter, and the long practice of grace.
Reflections, Musings & Meanderings
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A Consecration I Didn’t Seek, and the Grace I Found
On the Feast of St. Kevin of Glendalough, twenty years ago, June 3, 2006, I was consecrated to the episcopacy and made a bishop within the Free Catholic tradition. It was a day marked by equal measures of challenge and grace, shadow and blessing. The truth is, the day itself…
Reflections, Musings & Meanderings
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The Barefoot Bishop
I suppose there are worse things to be remembered for than bare feet. Over the years, I have worn many titles, some received with humility, some endured with a sigh, and some that never fit quite right no matter how carefully they were polished. Bishop. Archbishop. Abbot. Founder. Successor. Wanderer….
Reflections, Musings & Meanderings
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Twenty-One Years at the Altar: A Priesthood Under the Care of Saint Melangell
A blessed Feast of Saint Melangell to you and yours in this year of our Lord two thousand and twenty-six. Today is a tender and meaningful day for me. Twenty-one years ago, on May 27, 2005, the Feast of Saint Melangell, I was ordained to the Holy Priesthood within the…
Reflections, Musings & Meanderings
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The Narrow Path: A Reflection on Christian Minimalism and the Prosperity Gospel
In the modern landscape of faith, two diametrically opposed visions of “the good life” compete for the soul’s attention. One is the ancient, rugged path of minimalism, a way of life rooted in the self-denying teachings of Christ and the ascetic wisdom of the Church Fathers. The other is the…
Reflections, Musings & Meanderings
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Titles, Traditions, and Denominations and Living in the Center: Being a Christ Catholic
In this reflection, I wrestle with a question many of us quietly carry: What does it really mean to be Christian? We live in a world of labels: Roman Catholic, Old Catholic, Independent Catholic, Anglican, Orthodox, Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal, Presbyterian, Lutheran. Each tradition carries history, beauty, and meaning. But somewhere…
Coworkers of Christ
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A Reflection on the Living Center: Being a Christ Catholic
A Reflection on the Living Center: Being a Christ Catholic I often catch myself drawn to the temptation of the age I live in: the urge to build my identity around the branches of the Christian Church. It is so easy to wrap myself in labels, traditions, and the banners…
Highways, Byways & Hedges
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The World’s Smallest Cathedral: The Cathedral of the Prince of Peace in Highlandville Missouri
The World’s Smallest Cathedral, formally known as the Cathedral of the Prince of Peace, was a 14-by-17 foot stone chapel with a reach far beyond its modest walls. What it lacked in size, it made up for in spirit. This was the ministry of Bishop Karl Prüter of Christ Catholic…
Reflections, Musings & Meanderings
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Kindness Matters
It feels like we are living in sharp and brittle times. The country, and much of the world, seems perpetually angry, destabilized, and on edge. Tempers are short. Patience is rare. Everyone appears exhausted, defensive, entitled, self-serving, and quick to dismiss one another. Outrage has become the default posture, and…
Reflections, Musings & Meanderings
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The Evolution of the Website and YouTube Channel: To Love So Well the World
The Evolution of the Website and YouTube Channel: To Love So Well the World By +Brian Ernest Brown, CWC When I first began To Love So Well the World, both the website and later the YouTube channel, I wasn’t trying to build a brand. I wasn’t trying to craft a…