Setting the Inner Compass

Reading poetry is one of the ways some of us nourish our faith, a way we set or reset our inner compass and stay focused on the big picture, on the spiritual journey. I know that is true for me. In this monthly column, ‘Setting the Inner Compass’ I share some of the poems I find nourishing to the soul.  An Unbound Column by Dave Brown. 

SETTING THE INNER COMPASS: Early Fall 2024

Reading poetry is one of the ways some of us nourish our faith, a way we set or reset our inner compass and stay focused on the big picture, on the spiritual journey. I know that is true for me.

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SETTING THE INNER COMPASS – HELIOPHILIA

April was National Poetry Month. Although this column began in 2020 as a National Poetry Month project, I skipped the April column this year in part because there are lots of places to find poems in April. One gift of

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SETTING THE INNER COMPASS

Reading poetry is one of the ways some of us nourish our faith, a way we set or reset our inner compass and stay focused on the big picture, on the spiritual journey. I know that is true for me.

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SETTING THE INNER COMPASS – January 2024

Reading poetry is one of the ways some of us nourish our faith, a way we set or reset our inner compass and stay focused on the big picture, on the spiritual journey. I know that is true for me.

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SETTING THE INNER COMPASS: HOPE

Reading poetry is one of the ways some of us nourish our faith, a way we set or reset our inner compass and stay focused on the big picture, on the spiritual journey. I know that is true for me.

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Setting the Inner Compass: 9/11/2001

Reading poetry is one of the ways some of us nourish our faith, a way we set or reset our inner compass and stay focused on the big picture, on the spiritual journey. I know that is true for me.

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Setting the Inner Compass

In recent years I have noticed a growing interest in Celtic thought and spirituality, a way of approaching Christian faith that invites us to see God as not apart from the world, locked away in religious institutions but in the

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Setting the Inner Compass – Pride!

Happy Pride! In most of the world June is PRIDE month, a month when we affirm and celebrate our LGBTQI kindred. As we affirm and celebrate, I find myself grieving the damage done by the church in the name of

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Setting the Inner Compass: May 2023

Reading poetry is one of the ways some of us nourish our faith, a way we set or reset our inner compass and stay focused on the big picture, on the spiritual journey. I know that is true for me.

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SETTING THE INNER COMPASS

Reading poetry is one of the ways some of us nourish our faith, a way we set or reset our inner compass and stay focused on the big picture, on the spiritual journey. I know that is true for me.

More

Setting the Inner Compass – March 2023

A personal note: Last week I attended my first meeting as a member of the PCUSA Self Development of People national committee. I came away inspired by the efforts we support and my amazing colleagues on the committee. SDOP funds

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SETTING THE INNER COMPASS- February 2023

Reading poetry is one of the ways some of us nourish our faith, a way we set or reset our inner compass and stay focused on the big picture, on the spiritual journey. I know that is true for me.

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SETTING THE INNER COMPASS – January 2023

Yesterday I took the well-worn 2022 calendars off our dining room and kitchen wall and hung the brand new 2023 ones. I like calendars. In the kitchen we have one from Iona and another with amazing photographs of turtles. On

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SETTING THE INNER COMPASS

Reading poetry is one of the ways some of us nourish our faith, a way we set or reset our inner compass and stay focused on the big picture, on the spiritual journey. I know that is true for me.

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SETTING THE INNER COMPASS – October 2022

Reading poetry is one of the ways some of us nourish our faith, a way we set or reset our inner compass and stay focused on the big picture, on the spiritual journey. I know that is true for me.

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Setting the Inner Compass- August 2022

Reading poetry is one of the ways some of us nourish our faith, a way we set or reset our inner compass and stay focused on the big picture, on the spiritual journey. I know that is true for me.

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SETTING THE INNER COMPASS-July 2022

The first poem is by Ada Limón, who this month was appointed the 24th US poet Laureate. The poem, "Instructions on Not Giving Up", is from her National Book Critic’s award-winning book, The Carrying. She celebrates the unfurling of a

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Setting the Inner Compass: June 2022

Reading poetry is one of the ways some of us nourish our faith, a way we set or reset our inner compass and stay focused on the big picture, on the spiritual journey. I know that is true for me.

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SETTING THE INNER COMPASS – May 2022

Reading poetry is one of the ways some of us nourish our faith, a way we set or reset our inner compass and stay focused on the big picture, on the spiritual journey. I know that is true for me.

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SETTING THE INNER COMPASS – April 2022

Reading poetry is one of the ways some of us nourish our faith, a way we set or reset our inner compass and stay focused on the big picture, on the spiritual journey. I know that is true for me.

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SETTING THE INNER COMPASS – March 2022

Reading poetry is one of the ways some of us nourish our faith, a way we set or reset our inner compass and stay focused on the big picture, on the spiritual journey. I know that is true for me.

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Setting the Inner Compass – Valentine’s Day

In my 2021 Valentine’s Day column I shared how I changed my mind about celebrating Valentine's Day. There was a time when I didn’t pay much attention to this or any “greeting card” holiday. I didn’t have much interest in

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SETTING THE INNER COMPASS – January 2022

January 2022 comes with more than the seasonal changes. In January 2022, we face unique and difficult challenges. The pandemic lingers impacting everything and in particular making huge demands on our siblings who care for people in hospitals. Covid uncertainties

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SETTING THE INNER COMPASS- CHRISTMAS 2021

Reading poetry is one of the ways some of us nourish our faith, a way we set or reset our inner compass and stay focused on the big picture, on the spiritual journey. I know that is true for me.

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SETTING THE INNER COMPASS – November 2021

This column is inspired by the new poetry anthology edited by James Crews, How to Love the World (Storey Publishing). The title echoes a line from one of my favorite poems, Mary Oliver’s poem "Spring", “There is only one question;

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SETTING THE INNER COMPASS: October 2021

Reading poetry is one of the ways some of us nourish our faith, a way we set or reset our inner compass and stay focused on the big picture, on the spiritual journey. I know that is true for me.

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SETTING THE INNER COMPASS – September 2021

Reading poetry is one of the ways some of us nourish our faith, a way we set or reset our inner compass and stay focused on the big picture, on the spiritual journey. I know that is true for me.

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SETTING THE INNER COMPASS – August 2021

Reading poetry is one of the ways some of us nourish our faith, a way we set or reset our inner compass and stay focused on the big picture, on the spiritual journey. I know that is true for me.

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SETTING THE INNER COMPASS – July 2021

Reading poetry is one of the ways some of us nourish our faith, a way we set or reset our inner compass and stay focused on the big picture, on the spiritual journey. I know that is true for me.

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SETTING THE INNER COMPASS – June 2021

Reading poetry is one of the ways some of us nourish our faith, a way we set or reset our inner compass and stay focused on the big picture, on the spiritual journey. I know that is true for me.

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SETTING THE INNER COMPASS – mid-Lent 2021

Reading poetry is one of the ways some of us nourish our faith, a way we set or reset our inner compass and stay focused on the big picture, on the spiritual journey. I know that is true for me.

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SETTING THE INNER COMPASS – February 2021

Reading poetry is one of the ways some of us nourish our faith, a way we set or reset our inner compass and stay focused on the big picture, on the spiritual journey. I know that is true for me.

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SETTING THE INNER COMPASS- January 2021

Reading poetry is one of the ways some of us nourish our faith, a way we set or reset our inner compass and stay focused on the big picture, on the spiritual journey. I know that is true for me.

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SETTING THE INNER COMPASS- CHRISTMAS

In this column, I share four poems related to Christmas. Christmas is a social/cultural and spiritual celebration. Culturally, Christmas is a worldwide celebration of light in darkness, gift giving and gathering in community. Jesus may be part of these festivities

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SETTING THE INNER COMPASS- ADVENT 2020

Reading poetry is one of the ways some of us nourish our faith, a way we set or reset our inner compass and stay focused on the big picture, on the spiritual journey. I know that is true for me.

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SETTING THE INNER COMPASS- November 2020

Reading poetry is one of the ways some of us nourish our faith, a way we set or reset our inner compass and stay focused on the big picture, on the spiritual journey. I know that is true for me.

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SETTING THE INNER COMPASS- September 2020

Reading poetry is one of the ways some of us nourish our faith, a way we set or reset our inner compass and stay focused on the big picture, on the spiritual journey. This month’s ‘Setting the Inner Compass’ is

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SETTING THE INNER COMPASS- August 2020

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Reading poetry is one of the ways some of us nourish our faith, a way we set or reset our inner compass and stay focused on the big picture, on the spiritual journey. This monthly column, ‘Setting the Inner Compass’

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SETTING THE INNER COMPASS- JULY 2020

Reading poetry is one of the ways some of us nourish our faith, a way we set or reset our inner compass and stay focused on the big picture, on the spiritual journey. Over the years, poetry has become an

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SETTING THE INNER COMPASS

O Karma, Dharma, Pudding, and Pie

Reading poetry is one of the ways some of us nourish our faith, a way we set or reset our inner compass and stay focused on the big picture, on the spiritual journey. I know that is true for me. ‘Setting the Inner Compass’, is a column where I share poems that I find meaningful and hope others do as well.

This month’s poem has a little edge to it. It’s funny and at the same time not so funny. The poet, Philip Appleman was a Darwin scholar. He was known as the “Poet Laureate of Humanism and Freethought[1]“. In his writing we find a harsh critique of religion and the violence done in the name of God. It may seem odd to include him and this poem in a church publication. I don’t. I think it’s important to hear and take seriously how those outside religion may see people of faith.

A few years back now, in 2004, along with my close friend and professional Futurist, Glen Hiemstra, I was invited to host a seminar at the national meeting in Washington, DC of the World Future Society. The topic was, Will Religion be the Death of Us? Glen and I expected a group of twenty to thirty. We were amazed when we overflowed the meeting room with more than one hundred participants. I began the session with the poem below. It was received with laughter and robust applause. We then spent the seminar talking about the danger of religion and the rise of what was then called the “religious right”. We looked ahead and wondered if religion threatened the future or if there was an approach to religion that could help create a secure future working alongside reason and science. The sense of those in the room is that the anti-science approach they felt was present in much of religion in general and American Christianity in particular was a threat to the planet and future we needed to create. This was 2004. Eighteen years later, Will Religion be the Death of us? is a question and topic worth exploring. 

As a person of faith and a member of a denomination that values the life of the mind, I can see clearly the danger posed by any religion that divorces faith from intellectual pursuits and critical thinking. Presbyterians have a different story to tell. Let’s tell it!

Peace,

Dave  

THE POEM

O Karma, Dharma, Pudding, and Pie.” by Philip Appleman

O Karma, Dharma, pudding and pie,
gimme a break before I die:
grant me wisdom, will, & wit,
purity, probity, pluck, & grit.
Trustworthy, loyal, helpful, kind,
gimme great abs & a steel-trap mind,
and forgive, Ye Gods, some humble advice—
these little blessings would suffice
to beget an earthly paradise:
make the bad people good—
and the good people nice;
and before our world goes over the brink,
teach the believers how to think.

[1] From the Freedom From Religion webpage.

CREDIT

“O Karma, Dharma, pudding and pie,” by Philip Appleman, from Selected Poems University of Arkansas, 1996. Used by the permission of the University of Arkansas Press.


Rev. Dave Brown [email protected] is a writer and the creator/host of Blues Vespers. The Washington Blues Society recognized him with the 2022 Keeping the Blues Alive award. The former pastor of Immanuel Presbyterian Church, Tacoma WA he is a member of the Self Development of People National Committee and serves on the PCUSA Education Roundtable. Dave, with Imam Jamal Rahman, does programs around interfaith relationships.  His most recent poetry collection is, I Don’t Usually but…

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