It’s a New Year. So Why is it the Same Old You? Is there something (a person, a cause, an idea) that you want to investigate more fully? Have you had any particularly religious or spiritual experiences this past year? Is there something that you wish you had done differently this past year? How would you have done it differently? What is a fear that you have and how has it limited you?   Describe one thing you'd like to achieve by this time next year? Why is this important to you? These are all deep and reflective type questions which can help you think about your life and its significance. …

Editor’s Note: Christian Coleman is a freshman at Chaminade College Preparatory School in Creve Coeur. He’s a member of the St. Louis Archdiocesan Children’s Choir, which in December participated in the International Federation of Pueri Cantores, which drew 2000 singers from around the world to Rome. The Federation of Pueri Cantores is a Catholic organization which promotes sacred music and meets in Rome every five years to sing for the Holy Father. When we arrived in Rome, we immediately went to Vatican City and entered the Audience Hall where we met up with the other singers. There was a …

The sound of steeple bells faded into the icy air as worshippers filed in and shook off the chill of a frigid Saturday in which the mercury would crack the lower teens. Filled with the strains of organ music and illuminated by candles and natural light filtering through frosted windows, the sanctuary provided a welcome respite for congregants who had braved the cold and were on hand to witness a special event at the Church of the Abbey of Saint Mary and Saint Louis. Then, all grew quiet. “Brother, by baptism, you have already died to sin and been consecrated to God’s service,” intoned Abbot …

Anna Komen Brick, of Komen Bakery for you locals, was a remarkable woman. She took a fairly decent, albeit "structured," cook (me) and brought me out of my shell. To me, at first, recipes were meant to be followed. To Anna, recipes were a good start. To me, when measuring ingredients, accuracy meant everything. To Anna, measuring meant "some." She taught me so much.I don't remember how it first happened, Anna and me cooking together. It may have been baking at her home for Pesach. It may have been cooking for an event at Traditional Congregation. It doesn't even matter how it started. It only…

After a trip last month to Southern Sudan, I found myself looking at the elaborate stamps in my passport, wondering if I would ever be able to go back. I went as the member of a group of Missouri Episcopalians who have partnered with churches in Southern Sudan known as the Lui Diocese.   The African nation of Sudan has been at war with itself for 39 of the 57 years since it gained independence from Great Britain in 1953.  The most recent war is the one I'm most familiar with: from 1983 until 2005, the North and the South fought each other in a protracted, bloody civil war about oil …