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About Boehner's speech
In his combative response to President Obama's speech last night, House Speaker John Boehner offered an uncommonly crystalized rendition of an all too common bit of GOP nonsense.
Take the High Road, by Blind Boys of Alabama
With roots stretching back seven decades, the Blind Boys of Alabama still chug along, aided here by a host of country luminaries, including Vince Gill ("Can You Give Me a Drink?") and the Oak...
Camp meeting: At the Wild Goose Festival
Wild Goose was a weekend of
fun and free spirits, as amateur musicians circled up to play, local beer
flowed, Frisbees soared and people lingered around
campfires. It was also punctuated by moments of intense reflection.
Belgian Christians divided over banning of Muslim burqa
Warsaw, Poland, July 25 (ENInews)--Christian organizations in Belgium have
had mixed reactions to a criminal code amendment making the country...
U.S. conservatives on defense after Oslo killings
(RNS) For years, many religious and political conservatives in the U.S.
have sought to connect Islam to violence carried out by Muslims, and...
Poll: God has better approval rating than Congress
WASHINGTON (RNS) More than half of U.S. voters approve of God's job
performance, according to a new poll, making God more popular than all
members of Congress....
Vatican recalls Irish ambassador over abuse report
VATICAN CITY (RNS) The Vatican has recalled its ambassador to Ireland
for "consultations" on the official church response to a government...
Poll: Americans want religious presidents, but are vague on details
(RNS) Americans want their presidents to be religious, but many have
trouble identifying the faiths of President Obama and leading GOP...
Death intrudes
My first “official” responsibility in my
new position took place a week or so earlier than schedule, as I...
Struggle and blessing
Recently, I learned that a young couple I know had filed for divorce after 18 months of marriage. By my calculations, they spent more time planning the wedding than being married.
Love & Gravity
Chicago's LaSalle Street
Church has become
a haven for musicians. This is largely due to the dynamic ministry of
Gary Rand.
Gravesite blessing
A dying parishioner of mine didn't care about the church budget or the
sexual orientation of the choir director. He just wanted help finding a
faith to carry him through a life that'd been full of interruptions.
Meek’s Cutoff: Directed by Kelly Reichardt
Meek's Cutoff has been labeled everything from a revisionist
western to a feminist allegory. It rejects
the conceit of a romanticized West, instead questioning the various roles and realities that accompanied the pioneers
on their journeys.
Compromise, compromise
The debt-ceiling fight is about politics, not policy. But count on the news media to conflate the two—in service of the trope that everyone just needs to meet in the middle of wherever they are right now.
Marketing plan: A mainline church in the Bible Belt
I used to receive postcards from conservative churches
advertising their upcoming sermon series. Why, I asked myself, don't mainline
churches advertise like this? That question led
to an experiment.
Churches press Obama to protect poor in budget talks
WASHINGTON (RNS) President Obama agrees with religious officials'
concerns about protecting the poor as Washington debates the nation's...
Town clerk in N.Y. resigns over new gay marriage law
Granby, N.Y. (RNS) Ruth Sheldon was knee-deep in work. As town clerk in
Granby in upstate Oswego County, she was busy with the census of the
town's dogs....