Published Articles
2021 - October - CDT - Active Life
Community
I’ve been thinking about the beauty of “community” lately. In my work, I have the privilege of seeing it time and time again. We invite people to gather together around a specific event,...
Sunday, October 3, 2021
2021 - September - Gazette - A Place to Take Your Grief
A Place to Take Your Grief
When my husband and I were living through the years of losing our first six pregnancies, angels became significant to me. Angels symbolized the lives that began in me an...
Thursday, September 30, 2021
2021 - August - Gazette - Courage
Courage
While driving through the western U.S. on a recent trip, I was struck by several acts of courage I saw during my travels. Park rangers at the Grand Canyon who walked out on the sheer ledge...
Thursday, August 26, 2021
2021 - August - CDT - Helping Hands
I’ll always remember where I was. Like many other Tuesday mornings, I was following along with my Rodney Yee morning yoga DVD while our infant son lay next to me. When I finished, the TV was on NBC...
Thursday, August 12, 2021
2021 - July - Gazette - Life with Tears & Laughter
Life with Tears & Laughter
When people from a Christian tradition provide me with the honor of officiating their loved one’s funeral services, a common scripture reading they request comes fro...
Thursday, July 22, 2021
2021 - June - Gazette - Intimacy with Disappearance
Intimacy with Disappearance
In his meditation on vulnerability, poet and author David Whyte wrote:
“…The only choice we have as we mature is how we inhabit our vulnerability, how we become larger...
Thursday, June 24, 2021
2021 - May - Gazette - Breathe in Moments
Breathe in Moments
One by one each of us entered the glass-enclosed circular chapel in the mountains of North Carolina. We removed our shoes and quietly sat down in a circle in the center of the r...
Thursday, May 20, 2021
Previous Posts
2022 - February - Gazette - Feeding Your Soul
Feeding Your Soul
For many years, I’ve had sensitivities to different foods. For example, I don’t eat pizza. When our kids were younger this resulted in a few humorous moments when they saw other ...
2022 - February - CDT - Helping Hands
A character in Sue Monk Kidd’s novel The Book of Longings, made a statement that jumped off the page and has resonated with me since. A brother said to his sister, “Your grief will come. Let it be ...
2022 - January - Gazette - Stories of the Heart
Stories of the Heart
I love it when a plan comes together. My husband was behind the wheel and I was in the passenger seat as we drove our son to train with a punting coach. While I sat there, I w...
2021 - December - Gazette - Life, Love and Light
Life, Love and Light
If you’re driving on South Atherton Street in State College this New Year’s Eve, we hope you notice the luminaries on Koch Funeral Home’s lawn. Each one of these luminaries re...
2021 - November - Gazette - Collective Grief, Collective Gratitude
Collective Grief, Collective Gratitude
Our Monday’s Moments at Millbrook Marsh program, in conjunction with Centre Region Parks and Recreation (CRPR), includes time for sharing, talking about diff...
2021 - November - CDT - Helping Hands
I love Thanksgiving! With its focus on family and gratitude, it’s one of the best holidays for me. Both of our children will be home this year, and since we’re all fully vaccinated, we’ll get to sp...
2021 - October - Gazette - Have the Talk of Lifetime
Have the Talk of a Lifetime
It was our usual Monday morning walk through the neighborhood about one month ago. My husband, John, and I were a little over one mile in and walking up a hill when he ...