His reception was like that of a rock star. Wherever he went, crowds gathered while the media was transfixed by his presence. Other major news took a backseat to each event on his itinerary. For five days in September, the attention of the United States was on the head of… Read More »A Progressive Christian Reflects on the Papal Visit to the US
The drive across Pennsylvania is longer than most people realize. This one took about six hours. I was traveling from Pittsburgh to a secluded part of the Pocono Mountains. The purpose of the trip was for a spiritual retreat. On one of the summits in the Pocono Mountains is an… Read More »Sex: Good, Better, Best — Remembering Fr. John McNeill
I listened carefully as she spoke. There was a sense of deliberateness to her words. She conveyed her story with authenticity, yet the story was one I’ve heard from others. Now middle-aged, she recounted how she grew up in a family and church that practiced a conservative, evangelical form of… Read More »Inner Darkness: Finding the Light
It was a question that caught me a bit off guard. But I’ve learned to expect such questions from my friend. Over the last year and a half I’ve been corresponding with someone who would normally be outside of my social circle: a former professional football player turned coach who’s… Read More »Social Consciousness: Awareness of the Needs of Others
It was a humid day. A slow, steady rain fell as we stood in the line. Some friends told us that they waited over two hours in this line. I suspected that because of the rain it would be much faster. I was right. Our wait was only 45 minutes.… Read More »Providing Refuge: History Repeats Itself
Approximately 70% of the human body is water. Interestingly, 71% of the surface of Earth is covered with water. Water is necessary for life. It was through the water of life, amniotic fluid, that we developed and were ushered into life. Water is used for ritual in every major religion… Read More »Holy Water
A few months ago, I was asked to be part of a panel discussing policing, public policy, and race. The event was sponsored by a professional psychological association and was titled, “After Ferguson.” I was invited to be part of this panel because I am faculty in a graduate school… Read More »Black Lives Matter
While sipping my morning coffee, I skimmed news headlines. One item caught my attention on National Public Radio’s web site: Astronomers Present New Information on the Aging Universe. http://www.npr.org/2015/08/10/431343053/astronomers-present-new-research-on-the-aging-universe The universe is 14 billion years old. It began with what we commonly call the Big Bang. From the Big Bang,… Read More »Musings on a Cosmic Spirituality
