by Susan Gates | Nov 25, 2022
Adapted from a talk given on November 17, 2022 to the women of Christ Church Vienna. Let’s start with the proper Advent greeting: “Happy new year!” Wait what, you’re saying! I haven’t even bought a turkey – not to mention Christmas gifts – and you’re talking about New...
by Susan Gates | Jan 31, 2022
“Why do the nations rage? And the peoples plot in vain?” Prince of Peace, our hearts are filled with dread today about the dangerous brinkmanship playing out between Russia and Ukraine. We pray for “the rulers taking counsel together,” especially Presidents Zelensky,...
by Susan Gates | Dec 3, 2020
Photo by Jong Marshes on Unsplash In elementary school I learnedBuzz Aldrin sat on the moon238,900 miles up, 30 earths away.We glued our baby eyes to the grainy TV to see his “magnificent desolation.”In middle school I learnedthe Mariana trench was seven...
by Susan Gates | Jul 18, 2019
Bear with me. I am drinking red wine. But I want to tell you a story. But first know, I love you very much. In the background is a TV documentary on the trials and triumph of the US space program. I was ten years old when Apollo launched and Neil and Buzz put feet on...
by Susan Gates | Oct 8, 2018
Photo by Vaory Photography on Unsplash I see you through the window through the rain outside on the sidewalk shifting from one foot to the other hesitant to knock. God dropped you off this morning, didn’t he? And you’ve never been here before (in my...
by Susan Gates | Sep 26, 2018
Photo by Everton Vila on Unsplash Imagine you’ve just landed from Mars and you picked up a newspaper or created a Twitter account to learn about your new locale. You’d see passing mention of hurricanes, floods, violence, environmental degradation, trade wars and...