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Rian Adams
Here’s my rendition of Pike County Breakdown played on my walnut Gibson style 2 conversion banjo. The banjo is an early 1930s one-piece flange banjo with a Huber HR-30 tone ring…
Allow me a confession: I love Gibson prewar banjos! I’ve caught a lot of flack over the years for being an amateur banjo player because people tend to assume I don’t have teeth. The complex was so bad that after graduate school I kept my “hobby” a secret so I could appear “intellectual.” (Hey, we all have our moments.) Here’s me on an early 1930s prewar Gibson walnut style 2. There’s more information below the video. I feel lucky sometimes, (well each day to be alive but…
Beyond the Collar: Fostering Genuine Connection in Christian Ministry In the vocation of Christian ministry, one encounters a profound and often paradoxical challenge: the mandate to serve authentically within a context where unspoken expectations can feel as binding as any ecclesiastical decree. With reverence and hope, parishioners frequently imagine their clergy as epitomes of moral clarity, unwavering wisdom, and spiritual serenity. Such elevated views, while rooted in respect, inadvertently prompt clergy to assume a “mask”—a crafted persona that aligns with these idealized expectations yet restricts the freedom of authentic self-expression. Drawing from the depths of Anglican theology…
Young Spirituality I love old things, especially old typewriters because they seem to have a certain “soul” that my Mac’s keyboard does not hold. I type a lot of my poetry on my typewriter from the early 1960s. This poem, young spirituality, is one of those. This poem came to me in an instant while driving in Asheville North Carolina. I noticed a group of people holding signs and screaming with a megaphone on the evils of abortion and “liberalism.” Half a mile down the street was another group, this time marching in…
The Poetry of Rian Adams: Follow Your Soul Each time I ponder the idea of the human Soul I’m not able to escape the spiritual context because to recognize soul is to admit something beyond the brain. In Christian spirituality, the concept of original sin has permeated western thought for centuries. The oversimplified version says that a literal Adam sinned, in a literal garden, thus every human born after Adam is infected with sin. This idea goes further and says that God will judge every human born based on their sinfulness. This sinfulness is inherent in their…
Rian Adams Sermon “Shield: Carrying the Weight of God.” Second Sunday of Lent, Year C A shield normally has one job… the difference between life and death can be how well a shield does that job. A shield’s job is to protect. In the Genesis passage God identifies as a shield – protector – to Abram… Gen 15:1 “Abram, I am your shield.” It’s clear from the beginning of the story, God desires a relationship with Abram where God protects and guards him.There are many layers in God’s announcement, “I am…