Martin Elfert

The Rev. Martin Elfert is an immigrant to the Christian faith. After the birth of his first child, he began to wonder about the ways in which God was at work in his life and in the world. In response to this wondering, he joined Christ Church Cathedral in Vancouver, British Columbia, where he and his new son were baptized at the Easter Vigil in 2005 and where the community encouraged him to seek ordination. Martin served on the staff of the Episcopal Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Spokane, Wash. from 2011-2015. He is now the rector of Grace Memorial Episcopal Church in Portland, Oreg.

The Dangers of Categorizing Faith

Part of me – or let me risk being presumptuous here and say: part of us – wants to distance ourselves from faith because so many screwed-up and hateful things have been done in the name of God.

The Quest is Done

A little while before Christmas, I completed a video game that I started playing in 1985.

A Letter for Barbara

Remember: Human beings need to be careful what we worship. Because we will worship something.

Tools: A sacrament, a holder of memories

A birthday cake can be a sacrament sometimes. So can be a book. So can be a cabin or a bicycle or a painting. So can be tools, with their history written on their bodies in flecks of paint and old sawdust and patterns of wear

Kindness can be transformative

At George H.W. Bush’s funeral, President Trump did not join the congregation in saying the Apostles’ Creed. And one person after another responded with tweets accusing him of hypocrisy, of failing as a Christian.

This Thanksgiving, I Gave Thanks for the Church

What I mean by “the church” is the institutional church with all of its rules. Maybe that sounds odd.

Naming the hurt is a step toward forgiveness

Having named that the actions of this person whom I had trusted had hurt me, I realized that I was suddenly a big step closer to forgiving them.

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