Mark Lepper
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thelepper.bsky.social
Mark Lepper
@thelepper.bsky.social
610 followers 530 following 800 posts
MDiv. Hospitality Coordinator @ Benedictine Retreat Ctr. Friend of Dorothy Day. Spiritual Director. Centering Prayer practitioner. Benedictine Oblate. Dishwasher for the revolution. "If Henri Nouwen reincarnated as a Muppet." L'Arche for Life! He/Him/His.
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thelepper.bsky.social
An image of a yellow flower with red in the center. Above it is the quote "Nothing is so strong as gentleness, nothing so gentle as real strength - Saint Francis de Sales."
December 10, 2025 at 10:02 PM
thelepper.bsky.social
You will be visited by three spirits...
Kermit the Frog, Gonzo, and Fozzie in a car. Fozzie is driving, Kermit is in the front passenger seat, and Gonzo is in the back. Yes, I know that Camilla the chicken is also in the car next to Gonzo, but she is a package deal with Gonzo so together they count as one.
December 10, 2025 at 3:09 AM
thelepper.bsky.social
Quote with your model of masculinity.
Catholic priest and spiritual author Henri Nouwen standing next to everyone's favorite neighbor Fred Rogers.
December 9, 2025 at 2:10 AM
thelepper.bsky.social
This is where I post from, if you even care.
An illustration from The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe of Lucy and Mr Tumnus sitting by the fireplace in Mr Tumnus' cozy house.
December 5, 2025 at 4:03 AM
thelepper.bsky.social
Having a frustrating morning printing envelopes & letters for a mailing, so I'm choosing to think about this fun memory from last year when I gave our Prioress, Sister Mary Liz, & Sister Micaela fake tattoos at the 25th anniversary celebration of our spiritual director formation program.
A bald man with glasses in a short sleeve floral print shirt and khaki pants putting fake tattoos on two women, one in a teal shirt and one in a darker shirt, both have shirt white hair and glasses and are looking at the camera and giggling because they think it's kind of ridiculous and silly that they are getting fake tattoos. But they are also really enjoying themselves.
December 4, 2025 at 5:01 PM
thelepper.bsky.social
What I'm wearing to the BlueSky Christmas party
It's an image from a Victorian Christmas card. It seems to be a turnip or a beet or some kind of root vegetable walking on two roots like they're legs, holding a walking can in a root and a heart that says 'A Merry Christmas To You" on it in another root. It has a head that looks like a white Victorian man with a top hat and a monacle and a black scarf/ascot/tie thing that is blowing in the wind. And he has a little bit of brown hair peaking out from under the top hat.
December 4, 2025 at 1:41 AM
thelepper.bsky.social
I've already been having a hard time remembering what day of the week it is, but this week's schedule for Liturgy of the Hours isn't helping. Today is apparently Second Tuesday. 😂
It's a schedule for the daily prayers of the Sisters at Mount St Scholastica. There's a lot of words and stuff on there that you don't need to worry about. What's important is that the days of the week are listed as Sunday, Monday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday...
December 3, 2025 at 11:29 PM
thelepper.bsky.social
Today was a foggy day which kind of reflects my inner being. Feeling contemplative and quiet today. Thinking about the things that life seems to be putting in front of me and how I might respond.
It's just a foggy scene. You can see some trees and some shapes of trees in the fog. But its mostly a gray and black/dark green picture.
November 20, 2025 at 8:21 PM
thelepper.bsky.social
Blue background with yellow letters that say "Coocoo for cocoa Puffs" in the style of Mamdani's campaign signs
November 8, 2025 at 8:33 PM
thelepper.bsky.social
For 12 years I lived and worked with adults with developmental disabilities at L'Arche Heartland. This past weekend was their 37th anniversary party and I got to attend as a member of the board. I also got to visit with my friend Ray who I lived with for 5 years. More details in alt text!
Two white guys smiling for the camera. Ray, on the left, has short cropped blonde hair and is wearing a black sweatshirt. I am on the right in a gray cardigan and a blue and green gingham shirt and blue eyeglasses. I am bald. I am happy to be sitting with my friend Ray. Ray might be enjoying it but he would never let me know so it seems more like he's tolerating the experience. I was helping him drink orange juice at the time which is probably why he tolerated it as well as he did. Ray doesn't like large groups of people and prefers to sit and listen to his keyboards. So the fact that he let me sit by him (and walk with him) as long as he did (both that day at the party and all the days we lived together, too) has been a huge blessing in my life.
October 29, 2025 at 11:08 PM
thelepper.bsky.social
Ending a long and busy day today (started at 7:30am and ended at 7:30pm) with a beer on my back deck. It would be a perfect way to end the day if my view was any better than the drive thru at McDonalds. But I'll take what I can get.
A wooden deck in the foreground. The background has a well lit McDonalds with a line of cars in the drive thru.
October 10, 2025 at 12:50 AM
thelepper.bsky.social
One of the duties of my current role, which I wasn't expecting but just kind of came my way, is making charcuterie boards for retreat groups. I'm not an expert by any means, but I enjoy making them and guests seem to appreciate them. So, it's a win-win I guess.
A charcuterie board with a display of cheeses, olives, cherry tomatoes, summer sausage, strawberries, tangerines, grapes, dates, cucumbers, mushrooms, and snap peas.
September 30, 2025 at 8:20 PM
thelepper.bsky.social
Age yourself with a film you saw in cinema as a kid.
The movie poster from the original Tron movie
September 30, 2025 at 7:54 PM
thelepper.bsky.social
Henri Nouwen
January 24, 1932 - September 21, 1996
Priest, pastor, scholar, professor, author, theologian, friend to people with developmental disabilities. I never met him but he has had a huge impact on my life and spirituality & continues to be a spiritual friend & mentor to me thru his writings.
Henri is a tall man with wire-framed glasses, grayish hair with a receding hairline, in a dark sweater. He is standing behind his friend Adam, who is shorter with a full head of straight brown hair. He's wearing a blue, gray, and black plaid shirt. Henri's arms are wrapped around Adam's torso and he his helping Adam to stand for the picture. A black and white photo of Henri, probably in his 50's, in a striped polo shirt and long pants with his right foot on a skateboard. His left foot looks like hie's getting ready to push off and his arms are slight extended out from his body ready to propel himself forward. Henri is in a gray jacket, white shirt, and gray slacks. He's got a dark scarf around his neck and he's wearing a hat. Henri is in a classroom, standing in front of a chalkboard. He's got a white button up shirt, striped pants, slacks, and a dark belt. His arms are extended straight out on either side of him and he has a tremendous grin on his face.
September 21, 2025 at 11:51 AM
thelepper.bsky.social
I'm at a meeting at a women's monastery in Illinois and these are two things that I've seen here and, taken together, make me giggle inappropriately.
A green rectangular sign that says "Sisters Private Area" A book with the title "He Touched Me."
September 9, 2025 at 5:56 PM
thelepper.bsky.social
Here is the group of Benedictine retreat center & guesthouse staff I spent the past week with. Out of this group only about 6 of us weren't a monk or a nun. I was the only man that wasn't a monk. It was a wonderful group to spend time and network with.
A group of men and women standing in front of a lake posing for a group picture.
August 30, 2025 at 11:44 PM
thelepper.bsky.social
I took the first picture last night. We drove home from St Benedict Center today. I already miss my daily walks around their little lake and eating meals with my new friends. But I'm glad to be back home with beautiful skies like the second picture (taken tonight).
A picture of a road going off into the distance with the sun setting on the horizon. It's glowing orange and yellow behind white wispy clouds that are covering the sky. Dark trees line either side of the road. The sky is dark blue at the top and fades to light blue as it gets closer to the horizon. A line of light that is almost rose gold is on the horizon. The clouds are a dark grey because of the light. Buildings of downtown are on the bottom of the picture.
August 29, 2025 at 1:50 AM
thelepper.bsky.social
A group of us walked across the street from St Benedict Center to see Christ the King Priory. We weren't expecting to go inside, but the Prior, Father Anastasius, opened the door and welcomed us in and let us see their chapel, which is beautiful. I'm glad we ventured over there this evening!
A dimly lit chapel. The monk's seats are in a semi circle facing the altar. Above the altar hangs a crucifix. A close up of the crucifix after Father Anastasius turned on the lights. The ceiling is wood beams.
August 28, 2025 at 1:27 AM
thelepper.bsky.social
Today is our last full day at St Benedict Center. I certainly will miss the morning views like this one.
A view of a small lake. On the left is part of the retreat center. There are trees on the other side. The clouds are white and whispy and reflected in the still water. There's a rosy tinge to the sky on the horizon.
August 27, 2025 at 2:41 PM
thelepper.bsky.social
I'm still at St Benedict Center in Schuyler, Nebraska for a conference of Benedictine retreat center staff. Lots of lovely people here who do great work. We had supper with the Brothers of Christ the King Priory this evening & they were all very nice. One more full day tomorrow and then we go home.
A wooden sign that has the word "labyrinth" etched into it with an arrow pointing to the left. There is green grass on the ground, some green trees in the background, and you can see the edge of a paved path on the righthand side of the screen.
August 27, 2025 at 1:43 AM
thelepper.bsky.social
I'm in Schuyler, Nebraska at St Benedict's Center for a conference this week. I got to spend some time today enjoying the grounds (and feeding the koi fish).
A gray statue of St Benedict with his arms raised above his head. He's standing on a stone square with St Benedict etched into it. There are trees/bushes visible on either side of the stone square and the sky is a vibrant blue behind him. Several many koi fish swimming in the water. They are mostly orange but some have white and others are all black. This wasn't when I was feeding them, so there isn't quite as many as showed up to snarf some Cheerios I shared with them later on.
August 25, 2025 at 1:21 AM
thelepper.bsky.social
These are the clouds that were over Sophia Spirituality Center, where I work, when I looked at it from across the property when I came out of the monastery today. I love fun and interesting cloud shapes. What do they make you think of?
A square building with tall, narrow rectangular windows as seen from across a large, grassy area. There's a grotto for Mary in front of it, as well as a circular mulched area with some bushes and benches and a cement cross halfway between the building and the viewer. There are several trees interspersed. Everything is a rich green color because we've gotten a lot of rain lately. In the sky, above the building, there are four small clouds of equal size and similar shape in a straight line basically parallel to the roof of the building. They are in a thin strip of sky that is whiter than the rest of the sky. The sky below is a deep, sky blue. The sky above is a grayer hue.
August 11, 2025 at 12:22 AM
thelepper.bsky.social
Happy National Cat Day from this cat that I saw lounging on top of my car this evening.
A gray tabby cat lounging on the back of my gray Chevy HHR. He's being real nonchalant and casual.
August 9, 2025 at 2:27 AM
thelepper.bsky.social
Here is a photo collage my phone made for me of selfies from the time I had a black eye. I feel like that's kind of a weird thing for a phone to do.
A grid of nine photos in 3 rows of three. All of them are selfies of a bald white man with a black eye in varying stages of progression. The top row is from when it was fresh and not very big or dark. The middle row is when it spread out and got a nice dark purple. The bottom row is when it started to turn sort of greenish and yellow. In the picture in the bottom right corner you can't really see it but the blood had started to move from the black eye and was settling along my chin/jaw. That was a weird thing I didn't expect to happen. In the bottom left photo I'm with my cat Meatloaf. He doesn't seem bothered by the black eye unlike my housemate at the time, Alex, who told me I needed to put makeup on it so he didn't have to look at it anymore. Alex has Down Syndrome and has always been honest with me in our friendship. The black eye was given to me by our other housemate George. I don't hold it against him. He is still one of my favorite people. I think Alex, on the other hand, might still be holding a bit of a grudge against George because of it.
August 7, 2025 at 3:58 AM
thelepper.bsky.social
I went outside to sit on my deck and enjoy the cooler evening temperature & was greeted by this little furball watching me from the top of my stairs. I went to get them some food but they were gone when I came back out. I left a little bowl of food at the top of the stairs for them if they return.
A white and gray stray cat watching me. She is one stop down from the deck so you can see the top of her back and her face from the nose up. She is staring at me warily. There's a MacDonald's drive though behind her but that isn't really important to this story.
July 31, 2025 at 1:07 AM