Lauren Anderson-Cripps
My husband and I recently discovered that smack dab in the center of our Venn diagram of musical tastes is Colter Wall. We are, admittedly, late to the game: Wall’s debut album was released in 2017. But in the months since we added the vinyl to our collection, it’s taken some serious turns on our turntable. While Hank Williams, Townes Van Zandt, Woody Guthrie, Waylon Jennings, and other country greats are clear influences, Wall’s baritone is so distinctive — so cool — that he’s a thing unto himself. This Christmas season, do your loved ones a favor and pick up Colter Wall’s self-titled album … and, if you’re feeling extra generous, a Stetson to go with it.
Lauren Anderson-Cripps is a freelance reporter based in Wasau, Wisconsin, who writes frequently for TLC.
Lydia Kelsey Bucklin
There’s nothing better than a gift that is locally handmade and unique! Gj’s Hobby page on Facebook features beautiful, beaded jewelry and accessories handmade by Gerlene Gordy, Navajo, who serves as the communication director for the Episcopal Church in Navajoland. I especially love giving the bookmarks. Gj takes custom orders or requests at gerlenejgordy1996@gmail.com.
The Very Rev. Lydia Kelsey Bucklin is president and dean of Episcopal Divinity School.
Greta Gaffin
I suggest chocolate made by the Wrentham Trappistines. They’re delicious while still being a reasonable price, and they’re made by nuns and not a big corporation.
Greta Gaffin is a freelance reporter based in the Boston area who writes frequently for TLC.
Candace Holtzen
If you ever left a service contemplating the powerful words of a hymn most of all, check out Stephanie Seefeldt’s Great Hymns of Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany Journal and Great Hymns of the Faith Journal, both available on Amazon. The beauty of these journals is their simplicity, and the beautifully chosen stanzas on which to listen, sing, reflect, and pray.
Candace Holtzen is TLC’s executive and business administrator.
Phil LaBelle
Several years ago, I engaged in the Advent Conspiracy with my parish. That movement’s call is to worship fully, spend less, give more, and love all, and it shifted how we gave gifts to our children. One of the recent gifts they most loved was “getting” a pig and a goat from Heifer International with a card detailing how that gift would help another person, while they also received keepsake ornaments of a pig and a goat from a Vietnamese artisan to hang on the tree. Every year since, as we decorate our tree, we remember the gifts and wonder about the recipients’ lives.
The Rt. Rev. Phil LaBelle is Bishop of Olympia.
Matt Marino
The classic My Utmost for His Highest is a 365-day devotional composed of notes by a YMCA chaplain, Oswald Sanders, for talks to British soldiers in Egypt during World War I. It has never been out of print, and for good reason. You can have it in the original 1918 language or an updated version. Both are powerful.
The Rev. Matt Marino is rector of Trinity Parish in St. Augustine, Florida.
Ian Markham
I confess to a propensity to buy gifts for my wife that I would rather like. The silent disco set was one such moment. A silent disco is the perfect way to finish any dinner party. Guests are invited to don a headset through which music is played and then dance the evening away. For those who want to carry on chatting, they can do so because the room is not full of loud music. Sometimes, it is just Lesley and me. It’s a little exercise to help the food go down and a fun way to finish the day. Despite Lesley’s initial skepticism, she is now persuaded it is a great gift for any family.
The Very Rev. Ian Markham is dean and president of Virginia Theological Seminary.
Dane Neufeld
For the diehard Anglicans in your life, consider giving a gift of The Warden, Anthony Trollope’s first book in the Barchester Chronicles. It is a warmly hilarious and insightful glimpse into the friendship and tensions between a priest, an archdeacon, and a bishop. Also consider providing a very affordable link to the excellent BBC adaptation (1982) now available on YouTube.
The Rev. Dr. Dane Neufeld is rector of St. James’ Anglican Church, Calgary, and chairman of Communion Partners Canada.
Matthew S.C. Olver
I have been traveling more in the last 15 months, and two items have made that a little easier. The first was suggested by my colleague, Fr. Mark Michael: the Trtle, a pillow that wraps all the way around the neck but has a firm internal piece and keeps the head from flopping in any direction. It is fantastic and very comfortable. The other is a garment bag called Halfday that folds into a duffle bag — very simple but very helpful and works as a carry-on.
The Rev. Matthew S.C. Olver is executive director and publisher of the Living Church Foundation.
Steve Pankey
It would be uncouth of me to recommend my girlfriend’s books (Horses Speak of God and God, Grace, and Horses, among others), so instead, I’d like to suggest you buy your loved one what I consider the perfect record. Tyler Childers’s 2017 sophomore studio album, Purgatory, can’t even imagine a single bad song. Tyler’s folk and Americana sound is especially eloquent on vinyl, but whatever form it takes, you will not be disappointed.
The Rev. Dr. Steve Pankey is rector of Christ Church, Bowling Green, Kentucky, and vice president of the House of Deputies.
Ephraim Radner
Try Jean-Joseph Cassanéa de Mondonville’s (d. 1772) Grands Motets, settings of select Psalms. Why don’t people know him more? Gaétan Jarry conducts a wonderful performance of Psalms 114, 92, and 19, at least two of which are stupendous masterpieces that stand with the greatest of any era.
The Rev. Dr. Ephraim Radner is professor emeritus of historical theology at Wycliffe College, Toronto.
Sean Rowe
Franciscan monk and spiritual visionary Richard Rohr wrote Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life, an accessible guide to the second half of life, more than a decade ago, and it is one of those books that bears revisiting every few years. Rohr writes that we can gain the capacity for deep spiritual awakening if we are willing to withstand and learn from the crises we experience as we age. I believe that the Episcopal Church has the opportunity to foster and encourage the kind of profound spiritual growth that maturity makes possible, and I commend this book by Richard Rohr as a place to start.
The Most Rev. Sean Rowe is Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church.
Samuel Tranter
Is Camille Ralphs, author of After You Were, I Am, a metaphysical poet for our times? Discuss!
Samuel Tranter is academic dean of Cranmer Hall, Durham.
Kara Wagner Sherer
Before COVID-19 my family (husband and two almost-grown children) had a wonderful tradition of giving each other experiences for Christmas gifts — a trip to a museum, game, garden, theater. We particularly were blessed to live in a city that still had holiday events that happened during the 12 days of Christmas, the only time a priest and a church musician could rest! I highly recommend taking those family times if you can.
If you do need to stuff a stocking or wrap a gift, I recommend gifts from a local business or artists. You can also support workers all over the world by giving bees, a goat, or a cow through Episcopal Relief and Development or the Heifer Project. SERV, Equal Exchange, and Marketplace India are all fair-trade vendors so that your gift can bring joy to your friends and family, and support local artists and farmers in their local community.
Celebrate the one born in a barn to remember the earth, our animal siblings, and those most intimately connected with “this fragile earth, our island home”!
The Rt. Rev. Kara Wagner Sherer is Bishop of Rochester.
Dorothy Sanders Wells
I can attest that experiences are very meaningful: tickets to a theatrical production, concert, or gallery exhibit; dinner at an iconic local restaurant; a cooking class; a spa day (Yes, for gentlemen, too!); a gift card for a local bookseller, for bibliophiles; or a pass for admission to a local zoo or historic site. All of these experiences invite a sense of renewed wonder in the world around us — and interesting sermon material for the preachers among us.
The Rt. Rev. Dorothy Sanders Wells is Bishop of Mississippi.
Barbara White
Even a technology-skeptical lover of the outdoors can enjoy a smart bird feeder. My family is delighted by up-close video clips of chickadees, titmice, woodpeckers, finches, and jays (and the occasional interloping squirrel or opossum) captured by our camera feeder.
The Rev. Barbara White is associate rector for worship, formation, and communications at St. Francis in the Fields Church, Harrods Creek, Kentucky.
Stephen Wood
I am an avid outdoorsman, and both gifts reflect my love for the outdoors. The first is American Mountains, a four-glass collection of handblown drinkware. One set features raised topographic impressions of Half Dome, Denali, Mt. Rainier, and Mt. Whitney. The second is a quintessential Lowcountry gift: a Brackish feather bowtie handcrafted in Charleston, South Carolina.
The Most Rev. Stephen Wood is Archbishop of the Anglican Church in North America.
