Coffee this Friday, March 8, at the usual time and place.
(1) Holy sites: I posted earlier today about a new project I’ve embarked upon within this Substack, seeking to collect and catalog Colorado’s holy places. I’m asking for your feedback on what places should be on the list and, relatedly, what criteria should be used. I also plan to visit or make pilgrimage to some of these places; I hope you can join me. Here’s an excerpt from the still-under-construction Holy Placespage section, highlighting a place I’ve never been but that—for reasons I’m happy to share over coffee—is top of mind for me:
✟ Christian | Holy Cross Wilderness Area (Eagle County), CO
Between Vail to the north and Leadville to the south, in the Sawatch Range, rises this unusual 14,005-foot mountain featuring a 1500-foot couloir (vertical cleft) intersected by a 750-foot horizontal bench, forming a Christian cross that keeps snow well into July. Because of its remote location, Mount of the Holy Cross was known largely in rumor and seen by very few until the celebrated western photographer William Henry Jackson took the first-ever photo of it. It became an American sensation. Jackson’s photo inspired a famous painting by Thomas Moran (now in the Autry Museum of the American West in Los Angeles) and a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in memory of the tragic death of his wife. Pilgrims flocked to see the cross by climbing a ridge on nearby Notch Mountain, where a stone hut was constructed in the 1920s to shelter hikers and host Sunday masses. According to a Summit Dailyarticle, this was also the birthplace of “handkerchief healing.” At the urging of a Denver pastor, sick people around the country began mailing in handkerchiefs, and the pastor carried them up Notch Mountain, prayed over them, and mailed them back to their owners. In 1932, he schlepped 2000 handkerchiefs, enlisting two rangers to help carry the load. Between 1929 and 1950, there was a Holy Cross National Monument, but after a rock slide that marred the cross’s right arm, visitation declined, and the area was stripped of the designation and returned to the Forest Service. Today, Mount of the Holy Cross is the centerpiece of the Holy Cross Wilderness Area, created in 1980. Hikers summit the mountain to “bag” one of the state’s many fourteeners, or they climb a ridge on Notch Mountain for the iconic view and shelter. Pilgrims still journey here for inspiration, solitude, and prayer.
has posted a fantastic resource, “66 Chapters of the Bible to Know.” The story of the Bible, he notes, “is so large that it is easy to get lost. Or overwhelmed. Or both. And so it can be helpful to have mile-markers for the journey, waypoints that help us know where we are and where we’re going.” Glenn highlights 66 must-know chapters (“appropriate considering the number of books in the Bible”), coupled with a brief, one-sentence summary of each. As with any list—but especially one of biblical proportions—some caveats are necessary. First, Glenn “left out the entire book of Psalms because, well, that would be another post in itself!” Second, he’s careful to remind that “all Scripture is inspired by God not just a handful of chapters and verses,” and sometimes “the character and will of God only become clear and obvious in the broad strokes of the canvas—when we zoom out and see the whole thing.” Bearing these in mind, I’m confident you will find this post a blessing to your Bible study and prayer.
(3) Wholly-new sights: I’m breaking the tradition of Two Things and posting a third, because it’s too good to pass up. An international group of scientists, led by Dr. Javier Sellanes of the Universidad Católica del Norte, has discovered scores of new species living on seamounts—massive underwater mountains—off the coast of Chile. The recent expedition, under the auspices of Schmidt Ocean Institute, has turned up some truly wonderous sights, including a “living constellation” that resembles an underwater tumbleweed and a new species of sea toad (or coffinfish) whose skin resembles a crocheted garment. The colors, textures, and utter strangeness of these creatures are mesmerizing and beautiful. Watch this incredible 4-minute video.
First Pres Lenten Lecture Series: Wednesdays of Lent, First Pres is hosting its Lenten Lecture Series exploring “what it means to love God and others as Jesus loved.” Next Wednesday, March 13, Dr. Brad Hale will give the fourth lecture, “Love and Sex in a Time of Crisis.”
C.S. Lewis Lecture by Kirk Cherry: Mark your calendar for Sunday, April 21 at 11:00 am, when Kirk Cherry will give a lecture at First Congregational Church on C.S. Lewis. Details will follow in coming weeks.
