Exploring new forms of pastoral leadership
Karen Sue Smith
Karen Sue Smith is the former editorial director of America.
Posted inIn All Things
Good Friday & Easter at the Casa
This is my third and final post on the Triduum at the Casa in Scottsdale Arizona Click on my name above to read my previous entries When I heard that the Casa was putting on a passion play in the afternoon of Good Friday I mentally thought I might skip it I had studied the sordid history of
Posted inIn All Things
Holy Thursday at ‘The Casa’
To read my previous posts on the Casa just click on my name above This is an appropriate time–during these five weeks of Easter–to think back on our experience of the liturgies of Holy Week Historically this is the season when new Christians just baptized and confirmed reflect on the myst
Posted inIn All Things
Pilgrimage to ‘the Casa’
I recently made a Holy Week retreat at the Franciscan Renewal Center in Scottsdale Arizona known locally as the Casa which is short for La Casa de Paz y Bien The title is descriptive Since this was the first retreat I have made in a very long time I regret to say I was not sure whether to
Posted inIn All Things
Send in the Clowns
Long before the telephone radio television and the Internet folklorists claim a joke still traveled at roughly the speed of light For some reason call it human nature jokes rank high on the list of topics for social communication Societies prize a good comedian which can be seen from the
Posted inFrom Our Archives
Artful Contemplation: Praying with art during Lent and Easter
Praying with art for Lent and Easter
Posted inFrom Our Archives
Praying with Art
Editorial Director Karen Sue Smith meditates on three images for Lent and Easter. Watch the audio slide show.
Posted inOf Many Things
Of Many Things
It poured rain the entire day that Christmas in Georgia, but we never let it dampen our spirits. I was visiting close neighbors, Sam and Beth and their young son. The three of us had prepared a vegetarian feast of succulent grain dishes, vegetable medleys, fruits, nuts, goat cheese and breads, not t
Posted inFaith in Focus
Two Surprise Guests
The social worker and I belonged to the same parish, but we were merely acquaintances. So I was surprised when she called to ask whether anyone at our farm might be willing to take in a mother who had given birth during the night. There were perhaps 50 committed adults living at Koinonia Partners In
Posted inFaith in Focus
Matthews Story: The fourth in a series for Advent and Christmas
In Matthews story of the birth of Jesus, we learn that we can now put away fear and replace it with joy, because the promised one of God has come to live among us. Like any good writer, Matthew does not merely assert this major theme of his; he shows us what it means in the lives of different charac