- A limitless desire that nothing on earth can satisfy -- not money, possessions, or fame; not shopping or gambling; not alcohol, drugs, or food;
- Our desire for God, and God's desire for us;
- The God-given longing to create a world in which human beings live in loving, just relationships with each other and with all creation.
Reprinted with permission of the Daily Hampshire Gazette. All rights reserved.
The Rev. Margaret Bullitt-Jonas, Ph.D. is a writer, retreat leader, and climate activist, and serves as Priest Associate of Grace Episcopal Church (Amherst, MA). Her latest book, Joy of Heaven, to Earth Come Down, offers daily meditations for Advent and Christmas that focus on the sacredness of God’s Creation. Her memoir Holy Hunger portrays her recovery from an eating disorder and the spiritual longing behind addiction. Christ's Passion, Our Passions explores forgiveness, compassion, and hope in light of Jesus' last words from the cross. {+ read more}
Current message - Ascend with Christ, Live with Joy, May 12, 2013.
Previous message - The LORD is my shepherd, April 21, 2013.
Margaret was part of the core team that planned and led Climate Revival: An Ecumenical Festival to Embolden the Renewal of Creation on April 27, 2013 in downtown Boston. Episcopal News Service reported on this historic event: http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com.
Margaret’s reflection on the Climate Revival, “Reviving the Climate, Restoring our Souls,” posted by Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts, is here.
Margaret was a panelist at a D.C. climate summit in May 2103 sponsored by the Episcopal Church and the Church of Sweden, “Sustaining Hope in the Face of Climate Change: Faith Communities Gather,” and is quoted in an article by Episcopal News Service.
Margaret reflects on the Climate Revival and the climate summit in an essay, “Rising with Christ: Confronting Climate Change,” posted by Episcopal News Service.
Margaret has added a series of four short video meditations on prayer and spirituality, videotaped and edited by Dr. Robert A. Jonas in the spring of 2013. In addition, many more audio recordings of sermons are available. Visit the Multimedia page for more.
Margaret wrote a meditation about the natural world for the Stations of the Cross, an outdoor service that moved from the White House to the steps of the Capitol in a Holy Week witness against our nation’s culture of violence. The specially written Stations of the Cross liturgy is available here.
An anthology to which Margaret contributed, Writers on the Edge, was a finalist for the 2012 Foreword Reviews Award.
Margaret’s book, Joy of Heaven, to Earth Come Down (daily devotions for Advent and Christmas) is available. Read more about it here.
Margaret Bullitt-Jonas has started a blog affiliated with ClearStory Collective, an outreach initiative by the Diocese of Western Massachusetts to folks who don't feel drawn to "church": http://clearstorycollective.org/blog/author/MargaretBullittJonas/
Margaret invited Bill McKibben to Amherst and helped to organize the follow-up climate action conference: http://www.gazettenet.com/2012/09/05/climate-central. A video and mp3 of this address have been added to the Multimedia Page.
Margaret has a chapter in the book, Writers on the Edge: 22 Writers Speak About Addiction and Dependency, ed. by Diana M. Raab and James Brown, with a Foreword by Jerry Stahl. Read more.
Margaret's essay “Conversion to Eco-Justice” has been re-printed in a new interfaith anthology, Claiming Earth as Common Ground: The Ecological Crisis through the Lens of Faith, edited by Andrea Cohen Kiener (Skylight Paths.)