Author page: Fr. Barnabas Powell

Christ is born! "Just have faith!" OK, I confess this gets on my nerves. What people don't realize is that, when someone is struggling, the last thing they want to hear is some trite religious phrase that seems to reduce their very real and painful situation to some magic formula for relief! It's not the…

Christ is Born! Here's a comment about our daily devotionals we received on our 1st Annual Ministry Survey that's still open till the end of the year (I hope you take the time to help us out): "Always positive messages. Fr. Barnabas is funny." Yea, but looks aren't everything! :-) You know, I really do try to make…

Christ is born! This is the time of year when we normally spend some moments reflecting on the previous year and looking forward to the next. Some will make some New Year's Resolutions. Others will systematically set goals and specific benchmarks for the coming year. Me? Well, I do a little bit of both. But an…

On this Christmas Day look at our Gospel Lesson in Matthew 2:1-12: Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star…

Tonight's the night! And my girls are absolutely thrilled to go to bed after Liturgy this evening! Why? Not because it's bedtime, but because after Liturgy in the morning, we're going to "mawmaw's" house and that means chocolate cake AND presents! It really is the most wonderful time of the year on many levels! But, for…

I struggle with road rage! There, I said it. I guess it comes from my years as a police officer, trained in the rules of the road, trained as a defensive drive and in high speed chases (very terrifying, by the way!) It just gets on my nerves when I see people not paying attention…

"Do you think this is funny? This is not a game, young man!" I had made the serious mistake of smiling while coach was scolding me for messing up a play on the field. In my defense (which didn't play well either, plus it actually WAS a game!) I was reacting to being nervous. I…

Since the most ancient of times salt has been important to the cultures who had it. In fact, there was a time when salt was even used as currency. Where do you think the old saying came from "He's worth his salt." Salt has been used to preserve, season, and cure illness. Even in our Orthodox…

There is a line in Shakespeare's Hamlet that I have always loved. It comes in Act 1, scene 5: "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy." It's such a wonderful encounter in the play, and it serves as a wonderful illustration of the necessary humility that we…