Latest Articles
Children of God, or, Boys and girls
For some reason or another, lately I've been remembering a particular Christmas, when my sister and I both got toy dump trucks from Santa Claus....
With ISIS execution, Syria loses key guide to Palmyra's ancient treasures
(The Christian Science Monitor) Long before the self-described Islamic State took over the ancient city of Palmyra, archaeologist Khal...
Reform Jewish movement declines to take a stance on Iran nuclear deal
c. 2015 Religion News Service...
A search for compromise as county clerks stop same-sex marriages
(The Christian Science Monitor) As a number of county clerks in Kentucky, Texas, Alabama, and other states resist issuing marriage lic...
Holding each other loosely: After my wifes brain aneurysm
I knew life was a gift to be shared, not a possession to safeguard, even before my wife collapsed on the kitchen floor. But it was abstract knowledge then.
Why black Christians are not off the hook
In some spaces, stories are told of glass ceilings but with no mention of those stuck in the basement. Many African American Christians tell stories of driving while black or other times they’ve personally experienced racial profiling. But they are silent when it comes to the devastating impact of police brutality and mass incarceration on poor black communities. Some love to point people’s attention to how their presence has too often caused white people to cross the street or to clutch their purse, but yet turn their faces away from how young black people are stereotyped and criminalized as thugs and jezebels.
Chipping away
I stood before the pile of clothes, holding each piece and asking myself, “Does this give me joy?”...
On the road with Jonathan Daniels
Fifty years ago today, Jonathan Daniels was shot and killed in Hayneville, Alabama....
Islamic leaders echo call for action on climate change
(The Christian Science Monitor) A group of Islamic environmental and religious leaders called on rich countries and oil-producing stat...
Muslim leaders issue call to act on climate change
Muslim leaders and scholars from 20 countries made a joint declaration at a conference in Istanbul, calling on Muslims and all nations worldwide to address climate change....
The church assembled: Why I love denominational gatherings
How should we Disciples make GA work going forward? I don't know the answer. I do know that we are obligated to one another only by our relationships.
Money advice from a scrapper
Recently a friend came to me for financial advice. I was stunned, because... well... we don’t have money. We have a home. We have equity. We have retirement savings....
Jesus arrives at a New England prep school
Brooks School, where I teach, is a traditional elite New England boarding school with roots in the Episcopal tradition. Founded in 1926 and named after Phillips Brooks, a well-regarded Episcopal bishop of Massachusetts, the school defies tradition as it seeks to diversify its faculty and student body. This diversity extends to its spiritual life. Its faculty represents a collection of bright, dedicated, and hardworking people. Like many academic institutions, Brooks began as a single-sex male school, and was slow to become co-educational, which transpired in 1979. New England boarding schools have long held a certain mystique among the American populace, a mystique found in films such as Dead Poets Society and in books such as John Knowles's A Separate Peace.
The nitty gritty of the saintly life
What makes Christians saints is not that they are above it all, but that they in the middle of it all—working, serving, and ministering. Saints, just like the Lord they serve, are not afraid to get their hands dirty for the cause of the gospel, are not discouraged by the almost unmanageable need they see each day, and will not be influenced by those who find scandalous their willingness to associate with the kinds of people Jesus spent time with in his ministry.
An Anxious Age, by Joseph Bottum
Joseph Bottum contends that the decline of mainline churches has created a moral vacuum that conservative Catholics and evangelicals have been unable to fill.
22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23)
We love to look at people and judge them on the basis of what we see. We looked at Lance Armstrong and saw a guy who beat cancer and won Tour de France titles. We saw Bill Cosby as a barrier-breaking comedian and father figure.
Building Baltimore: A coalition connects police and community
Every win in our organization's history has come when a diverse group of Baltimoreans got out of their lanes and worked together.
Can a gratitude journal make you more hopeful?
When my first book proposal was turned down, I submitted it to another publisher, and another, and another, until eight publishers later, my manuscript finally found a home. That’s when I deci...
3 myths about grief
Richard Niebuhr uses the metaphor of a shipwreck to describe those life experiences where what we thought would hold comes apart. A marriage ends, a career collapses, an illness shatters plans, a loved one dies. Pastors and congregations can be a lifeline.
Our culture, however, is mourning avoidant—and too often, faith communities reflect the broader culture's misconceptions surrounding grief.