My wife always calls me “Bob the bridge builder” and I have never really thought much about it. Pursuing a profession or perhaps obsession for city building all my life (including building cities in my back yard as a kid—pity my poor parents) has been one of the most rewarding and enriching gifts one can experience.  The opportunity to work with so many people from so many walks of life - people with means or without, the powerful and the unempowered, those of all races, gender and age, those of many faiths or no faith, of widely differing [...]

Excellence. A word we hear often and maybe at times even become too casual with our use of it. Merriam Webster defines excellence as, “eminently good.” In every aspect of our lives there is the opportunity to focus on excellence. I think of my Mom who makes every person who walks into her home feel loved and welcomed. Of course, that happens with a warm hug and a listening ear. It also comes from the thoughtfulness in which she hosts a guest. Whether they pop in unexpectedly or she has been planning for their arrival for weeks, every [...]

What determines beauty? Is it intrinsic, as in the beauty of a rose in full bloom, or the giggle of a delighted baby at the silly antics of a parent? Or is it “in the eye of the beholder” - totally subjective, determined by the individual - the reason some prefer Mozart to Stravinsky, symmetry to asymmetry? On Sundays we are surrounded by beauty: majestic organ music filling our Sanctuary, a family’s joy during an infant baptism, 100 voices blended in choral song, friendly faces wreathed in smiles, the corporate affirmation of our beliefs. And it is easy [...]

How delightful that I was asked to share this week, as I am celebrating twenty entirely amazing years as Director of St. Luke’s Day School! My days are filled with loveable, inspiring young children and the adults who adore them. On any given day I am able to witness purely authentic moments of children’s wonder, imagination, and creative thinking as we play and learn together! Over the years, my favorite title has become Chapel Helper. Every week during the school year, I have a role in leading energetic worship services for two to five year old children! We [...]

When I met Sid Davis, I had that sense that happens occasionally that you are re-meeting a long-lost family member. We resonated immediately and deeply. We started a collaboration that is now almost 30 years old. Together we have written, produced and performed almost 60 shows with about 30 of them original works. We have done this in an effort to give gifted individuals a stage upon which to apply their gifts… but more importantly… to build and forward – community. Jesus was a very social guy. Water-into-wine is a great opener for starting to engage with the [...]