I was impressed to see 83-year-old Robert Putnam in the New York Times Sunday Magazine this week. I was going back to use some of the article about him for this post last Saturday when something terrible caught my eye instead. It was the news that Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, PA tried … Continue reading Robert Putnam in his 80’s: The cause of our aloneness is moral
On the 4th of July we got together with a few people from our church to pray for the country. Independence Day is one of the “Other Major Feasts” in the Episcopal Church. I was happy to do it. All week my clients, family and friends were stressed out by Biden’s stupor and Trump’s lies … Continue reading The U.S. mess: What is prayer going to do?
My wife does not turn her phone off at night because we have been listening for children calling in the dark for over forty years, so why stop now? Some unknown person called at 3:30 the other night and then called again a short time later. I hear they called again after I had left … Continue reading Reflection is facing up to your new face
One of my favorite scenes in the masterpiece, Lawrence of Arabia, shows what happens after Lawrence returns from his journey across the Nefud desert. He has just accomplished the impossible by taking the Ottoman port of Aqaba from the desert side. Having returned across the deadly, scorching expanse, he is told one of his companions, … Continue reading Wrangling about law when “nothing is written”
Gov. Whitmer of Michigan went to Kalamazoo County last week to survey damage from the tornadoes that destroyed seventeen mobile homes and damaged 173 more. The state had just passed a law to require mobile homes to be anchored in a sturdier way, since storms have become more severe. “It’s undeniable,” the governor said. “We’re … Continue reading Save us from the serious authoritarian, Lord!
During our daytrip last week, I ran into a member from my former, now-dismantled, church. The church was fairly large, so it’s not unusual to connect with someone. But it has become all-too-usual to feel some real loss when I do. We had a lovely community, not long ago. I needed it then and I … Continue reading How do we build the new community we need?
To begin this meditation on guilt, I want to confess one of my guilty pleasures. I was (OK, still am) a John Denver fan. No, I did not think he was cool, and yes, he can still make me cringe at times. But his clear, sharp tenor often often gave melody to the best of … Continue reading Guilt: How it starves our true selves
I might have just learned the legendary tales I heard about my behavior at the Grand Canyon, or I actually formed some of my earliest memories on that trip when I was 3 1/2 years old. It might be the latter because I remember loving that cowboy hat I’m wearing in the picture. My oldest … Continue reading The impact of siblings: Five things you are probably sharing
I guess this is what married Christians do in 2024. My wife came to me after her prayers and wanted to talk. “What should we be doing about this year?” she asked. A sobering question. We’ve often wondered what we would have done if the Nazis rolled train-fulls of Jews and other targeted people through … Continue reading What should we do about 2024? : Not enough suggestions
I wonder if what has been making us mean in the last few years is unprocessed grief. Maybe we have not grieved at all, or haven’t considered all the ways our souls are working through the losses and sadness we carry. Do people in the United States have good ways to grieve anymore? Were you … Continue reading Grief: Make room to grieve in every way you need