Welcome to Dappled Things
“Dappled Things” is in the opening line of Gerard Manley Hopkins’ “Pied Beauty”:
Glory be to God for dappled things—
I am a Christian. I’m a husband to Mel and a dad to two elementary-age boys, all three of whom I love a whole lot and share with the Internet very little. I’m a Duke Divinity grad and a United Methodist elder halfway through my tenth year of full-time ministry. I believe Christ died for all, lives for all, reigns over all, and that the Church is called to be inclusive of all (and I’m not alone).
‘Dappled’ means the spots which I once thought were shameful marks on my permanent record. In my almost forty years I’ve experienced anxiety, depression, (and counseling and medication!), divorce (and counseling!), unemployment and career roadblocks (and counseling!), toxic Christians (and non-Christians! and counseling and medication!), and I was just informed that I should probably get braces. I probably need counseling. Typical elder millennial stuff.
You can expect me to write about my interests (not in order): Bible, historical theology, contemplative spirituality, prayer, pop culture, probably comedy, lots of books, maybe a video game or two, the breakup of the UMC from inside the floundering (not foundering) ship, and maybe my Poshmark addiction if I become braver.
Lastly, I considered naming this Substack with several variations of puns on how matins sounds like mountains and mittens. Let me know in the comments if I made a mistake.
LaudsItsColdOutsideSoPutOnSomeMatins.substack.com