the unlikely orange

note: i wrote these words back in 2017, after a series of tragedies.  you can see the original post here .  i have adapted these words to deal with the unthinkable gun violence perpetrated against people of color and children in our country in the last couple of weeks.  i share them here as a way to move us, as people of faith, to something more than just words, cynicism, or empty religious platitudes.    It has been a season of terrible tragedy.  And once again I have noticed in the news a trending phrase: thoughts and prayers.  It even has its own hashtag on twitter and other social media, but net necessarily in a good way.  People are understandably tired of hearing about others’ thoughts and prayers, when that is often only a thinly-veiled way of saying that our only obligation to those who suffer is a brief moment of silence, or nothing more than a tweet or public statement.  The truth is that, for those of us who follow Jesus, much is required when our neighbors suffer.  We are

i was recently asked to offer my compelling reasons for why i would want to remain in the united methodist church, even as there is division within, a new denomination forming, and an inevitable divorce coming at some point in the future.   here was my response: Why stay United Methodist?  My compelling reasons. It’s home.     For many of us, this is our home.  It is the legacy that was handed to us by our great-grandparents, our grandparents, or our parents.  It was the community who welcomed us into the world with casseroles on our kitchen tables, and baptism blankets.  It was the United Methodists who taught us flannel-board truths and showed us that Jesus loves all the little children: red, yellow, black and white.  It was the United Methodists who gave us our first Bibles, who journeyed with us as we learned what it means to confirm the promises of our baptism.  It was the United Methodists who affirmed our gifts, who let us ask questions, and who loved us even when we were annoyi

  "the broken path: station 8 - Jesus is placed in the tomb" gregory a. milinovich spray paint, broken glass, pottery, tiles, mirror on old farm window march, 2021 this year during lent, i was inspired to design a set of eight pieces of art for a "stations of the cross" installation, which is currently on display outside on the front lawn at St. Paul's UMC and Wesley Foundation at 230 E. College Ave. in State College, PA.  it will be there on display until april 3rd, 2021.  if you aren't able to see it in person, you can see the whole collection here.  i've also decided to write a bit about each one, so that you can find out a little "behind the scenes" information for each one, and hear a little about my inspiration.  here are the posts for station 1, station 2, station 3, station 4, station 5, station 6, and station 7. this brings us to the final station, in which we remember that the lifeless body was taken down from the cross, and then brou

  "the broken path: station 7 - Jesus dies on the cross" gregory a. milinovich broken glass, ceramics, tiles on old farm window march, 2021 this year during lent, i was inspired to design a set of eight pieces of art for a "stations of the cross" installation, which is currently on display outside on the front lawn at St. Paul's UMC and Wesley Foundation at 230 E. College Ave. in State College, PA.  it will be there on display until april 3rd, 2021.  if you aren't able to see it in person, you can see the whole collection here.  i've also decided to write a bit about each one, so that you can find out a little "behind the scenes" information for each one, and hear a little about my inspiration.  here are the posts for station 1 , station 2 , station 3 , station 4 , station 5 , and station 6 .  this seventh station of the cross is meant to urge us to consider the very last breaths of Jesus' life.  no more do we linger on the agony and tortur

  "the broken path: station 6 - Jesus is nailed to the cross" rev. gregory a. milinovich broken glass, tiles, stones, sea glass on old farm window march, 2021 this year during lent, i was inspired to design a set of eight pieces of art for a "stations of the cross" installation, which is currently on display outside on the front lawn at St. Paul's UMC and Wesley Foundation at 230 E. College Ave. in State College, PA.  it will be there on display until april 3rd, 2021.  if you aren't able to see it in person, you can see the whole collection here.  i've also decided to write a bit about each one, so that you can find out a little "behind the scenes" information for each one, and hear a little about my inspiration.  here are the posts for station 1 , station 2 , station 3 , station 4 , and station 5 .  in this post, we turn our attention to station 6, in which Jesus is nailed to the cross.  the whole idea of a body being nailed to a piece of wood

  "The Broken Path: Station 5 - Jesus is Stripped" gregory a. milinovich broken glass, tiles on old farm window march, 2021 this year during lent, i was inspired to design a set of eight pieces of art for a "stations of the cross" installation, which is currently on display outside on the front lawn at St. Paul's UMC and Wesley Foundation at 230 E. College Ave. in State College, PA.  it will be there on display until april 3rd, 2021.  if you aren't able to see it in person, you can see the whole collection here .  i've also decided to write a bit about each one, so that you can find out a little "behind the scenes" information for each one, and hear a little about my inspiration.  here are the posts for station 1 , station 2 , station 3 , and station 4 .  in this post we are turning to station 5, in which we remember that Jesus was stripped of his clothes, and of his dignity.  in this piece, i wanted to create a sense of nakedness without being