Drew Downs

Make a New Normal

  •   We aren’t the Rotary. We aren’t a country club. We aren’t civil society. We aren’t a local government. We aren’t a Lodge or an Order or anything like that. We are the church and the church is different. We forget that sometimes. And in many ways. When we get together to set up the…

  • Tom Ehrich has written the best response yet to the anti-mainline and doom-and-gloom forecasts. Conservative commentators like Rupert Murdoch’s stable and Ross Douthat of The New York Times are feasting on what they perceive as the “death” of “liberal Christianity.” They add two and two and get eight. They see decisions they don’t like — such…

  • No sooner had I written my little rant about the media then did I stumble upon the Rev. Susan Russell’s conversation Sunday morning on CNN. She was invited to talk about The Episcopal Church’s decision at General Convention to confirm for trial use the liturgy produced for the blessing of same-gendered unions. Speaking opposite her…

  • After a week of incredible, humbling work, the 77th General Convention of The Episcopal Church closed last week with a flurry of activity. A week of prayer, worship, discernment, and decision found the church wrestling with serious and substantive questions. More importantly, it appears, finding its voice. A new group of people I deeply respect…

  • The Downs family have been having a great time on vacation. And as it nears its endpoint, I thought I’d put together a few pictures of one of our fun stops. In downtown Traverse City, they had a special Lego storefront setup for the National Cherry Festival. There was no entrance fee, and kids were…

  •   Being without 4G or WiFi has meant virtually no updates. But we have pictures to share. This is Rose enjoying the wifi from a McDonald’s parking lot. Over the next few days, check out my tumblr stream or join me on Instagram. By next week, We should be back online. Enjoy yourself!