Mark Lingle
My blogs
| Gender | Male |
|---|---|
| Industry | Religion |
| Occupation | Pastor |
| Location | Stamford, Connecticut, United States |
| Introduction | I am a Lutheran pastor serving an Episcopal Church in Stamford, CT. I am married to Marnie who is the head of the Upper School at King School in Stamford. We have two West Highland White Terriers--Wesley and Eli--and enjoy the richness of a diverse and welcoming faith community, St. Francis Episcopal Church in north Stamford. The name of this blog borrows from the parable in Luke 15, often referred to as "the Prodigal Son." However, upon closer examination, you realize that all the characters are "prodigal" (i.e. wasteful or lavishly abundant). The father, in particular, is lavishly abundant with his property, his forgiveness, and his love. Such is the God, I believe, whom we worship. My interests include robust and critical thought regarding the intersection of faith and modern life, interreligious dialogue, church/state/politics interaction, and reflections on what we mean by, and how we respond to, the "needs" of those who may be "stranger." This is done with a sense that the Holy in life is prodigally beneficent, loving, grace-oriented, and merciful. |
| Interests | Running, Hiking, Biking, Basketball, Naps, Podcasts, Politics, Theology, Ethics, Good Wine, Conversations, Community |
| Favorite movies | Unforgiven, Letters from Iwo Jima, Big Fish, High Noon, Memento, The Shining, The Graduate, American Beauty, Crimes and Misdemeanors, The Usual Suspects, Fargo, The Straight Story, The Killing Fields, Babette's Feast, The Best Intentions, Salaam Bombay, My Life as a Dog, Harold and Maude, Young Frankenstein, One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, Life of Brian, No Country for Old Men, Million Dollar Baby, |
| Favorite music | U2, Eagles, Don Henley, Dire Straits, Mark Knopfler, Bruce Springsteen, Wilco, The Who, Rush, Fleetwood Mac, Marc Cohn, Til Tuesday, Spoon, The National, Peter Gabriel, Hothouse Flowers, Bruce Cockburn, Talking Heads, Emmylou Harris, Dixie Chicks, AC/DC, KD Lang, Alison Krauss, Chris Isaak, David and David, The Jayhawks, Lyle Lovett, Gordon Lightfoot, Green Day, Jackson Browne, Wailin' Jennys, Pearl Jam, Simple Minds, Kansas |
| Favorite books | Undergoing God, The Importance of Being Ernest, Crime and Punishment, Lost in the Funhouse, King Lear, Grapes of Wrath, Cats Cradle, The White Album, Ordinary Time, Tao Te Ching, Silence, A Prayer for Owen Meany, Barth's "Epistle to the Romans", The Heart of Christianity, The Joy of Sects, |