It was its own kind of ritual. On Sunday mornings, when I would return home from church, I’d visit with my mother. She’d always ask, “How many people were there?” In my mother’s early life, church played an important role. Growing up in a coal town in Western PA, the… Read More »New Awareness of Spirituality
There are times when I get so angry that I just don’t know how to contain myself. Like when I received email from a colleague about events one Sunday at her church. Members of a national organized opposed to gay marriage picketed her church because they perform gay marriages. While… Read More »A Spiritually Grounded Response to the Culture Wars
I’ve heard the story a number of times in the past. I don’t know if it’s legend or if this place actually exists. No matter the accuracy of the story, it strikes me that that the account coveys a timeless truth. As the story goes, a group of pilgrims visited… Read More »Death, Life, and Spirituality
What good are spiritual practices? Why take time to pray, meditate, journal, or spend time to intentionally develop the spiritual dimension of life? There are some critics who claim that a focus on spirituality is nothing more than self-indulgence. I’ve heard this criticism many times. Some of those who make… Read More »Spiritual Practices: What Good Are They?
I’m very proud of my association with the United Church of Christ. As a Christian denomination, we tend to be a bit different from other denominations. We are rooted in the Christian tradition. We strive to be radically inclusive of people and their life experience. While we don’t always get… Read More »The Arrogant Preacher
It was news that had been anticipated and hoped for in the scientific community. On July 4, 2012, it was made official: with 99.99% statistical certainty, the presence of the Higgs boson was identified. The Higgs is a particle whose presence enables other particles to have mass. Mass is an… Read More »The Higgs Boson, God, and Belief
July 4: Independence Day. The people of the United States remember the events that culminated n 1776 with the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Primarily written by the humanist Unitarian, Thomas Jefferson, the famous words of the declaration have become the hallmark of patriotism for citizens of the United… Read More »The Pursuit of Happiness: Thoughts for Independence Day 2012
The question caught me by surprise. It’s not that I hadn’t thought that people would have this question. It’s just that after more than 30 years in ministry, no one had ever asked me this question. It was simple, straight-forward, and a bit unnerving. The question: why should I care… Read More »Why Care About the Bible?
