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April 2022

April 15, 2022

Actually, He Died: A Good Friday Meditation

Several Christmas Eves ago, Jeanne, Justin and I were invited to share dinner with a...

March 2022

March 06, 2022

It’s My 66th Birthday, and I’m Still Here. Deal with it.

Early last week a friend emailed me the following comment in response to my latest...

March 01, 2022

An Assignment for Lent: Learn the Difference Between Solitude and Being Alone

The greatest thing in the world is to know how to belong to yourself. Michel...

February 2022

February 24, 2022

The Cruelest Thing a Person Can Say

I detect that a rebellion against all things “religious” is growing on me. Often it...

January 2022

January 23, 2022

The Words of Our Mouths and the Meditation of Our Hearts

This past week I began a new course with a colleague from the Political Science...

December 2021

December 15, 2021

Advent for Dummies–How to do the season

We seek retreats for ourselves in country places, on beaches and mountains . . ....

October 2021

October 10, 2021

An Appropriate Level of Outrage

As we have been selecting the required texts over the past couple of weeks for...

April 2021

April 29, 2021

Speak What We Feel, Not What We Ought to Say

Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say. Shakespeare, King Lear Last week,...

April 18, 2021

Surely, I have Set My Soul in Silence and in Peace

It has been thirteen months since our lives changed in ways that we will never...

March 2021

March 04, 2021

Praying with Alexa

I read a fascinating article in The Atlantic not long ago that explores the various ways...

February 2021

February 25, 2021

What is the Difference Between Solitude and Being Alone?

The greatest thing in the world is to know how to belong to yourself. Michel de...

January 2021

January 26, 2021

Liberal Christianity on the Rise

Last Saturday, the New York Times published a fascinating article by Elizabeth Dias called “In...

December 2020

December 17, 2020

What to Say when Any Word is the Wrong Word

After a number of years of engaging with social media, primarily Facebook and Twitter, I...

October 2020

October 01, 2020

Take a Deep Breath

Jeanne and I did not watch the presidential "debate" on Tuesday evening, choosing instead to...

September 2020

September 15, 2020

The Fat, Relentless Ego . . . and what to do about it

This past weekend, Jeanne and I, along with our two sons and our daughter-in-law, travelled...

September 13, 2020

There is No Substitute for the Real Thing

Not long ago, I had the opportunity to return to one of my two favorite...

September 10, 2020

Silence: The Best Answer to Prayer

I, as many people of faith, have often wondered why the divine is so apparently...

August 2020

August 23, 2020

The Connection between Faith and Politics? It’s a Secret

Today's reading from Matthew's gospel is both famous and infamous. Jesus asks his disciples "Who...

August 06, 2020

Silence is Not Always Golden: Class Participation in a Pandemic

Classes start on my college campus three weeks from this coming Monday. Let’s just say...

June 2020

June 28, 2020

Death is Not Optional

I’ve been thinking a lot about end of life issues lately. Really. They seem to...

April 2020

April 18, 2020

9/11, the Coronavirus, and Becoming a Better Person

Everyone beyond a certain age can remember clearly what they were doing eighteen-and-a-half years ago...

April 09, 2020

Actually, He Died

Several Christmas Eves ago, Jeanne, Justin and I were invited to share dinner with a...

April 02, 2020

“I Don’t Know”: The most profoundly religious statement of all

Let me tell you here first, “trust in God” has never floated my boat as...

March 2020

March 29, 2020

Step back, be quiet, and be at peace

My friend Mitch, who is the priest-in-charge at the Episcopal church I attend, has asked...

January 2020

January 26, 2020

Staying Sane During the Impeachment Trial

The other day somebody wrote on Twitter that “President Trump is the best president in...

December 2019

December 19, 2019

I Will Bring You Home

Baptist preacher’s kids get to do some very odd things. I memorized large portions of...

August 2019

August 18, 2019

Finding the Light

We are not simply made by God—we are made of God Julian of Norwich Toward the end of a...

May 2019

May 30, 2019

Happiness is Overrated, but Learning to Live Well is Not

It is the happy life that asks more of us than we realize we have...

May 23, 2019

When God Is Silent

Every religion which does not confirm that God is hidden is not true. Blaise Pascal One...

May 11, 2019

A Mother’s Day Remembrance: Her Children Rise Up and Call Her Blessed

I once learned something interesting about giraffes from one of my colleagues. He was lecturing...

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