The death of a beloved is an amputation.—CS Lewis As we wrapped up 2018, our coastal congregation was rocked by grief. Loved ones near and far were lost as if the ending of the year meant that lives were concluding as well, like a succession of doors clicking closed. Mothers, fathers, grandparents, siblings. And though no loss is less than another, none struck me quite like the Facebook post by a young mom who shared…
It’s basic. Everyone wants to be better, do better, look better, feel better. But when we look back at 2018 and our grand resolutions, we see missteps, unfulfilled goals, or outright failures. So at the front end of a new year we hunker down and grit our teeth and set resolutions and goals for a new year. But by the end of 2019, we’ll go through the same ritual. Why do resolutions seem like…
In the same region, shepherds were staying out in the fields and keeping watch at night over their flock. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: Today in the city of David a…
Ah, the holidays. Traveling. Black Friday. Big meals. Football. Loved ones. And, occasionally, difficult people. You know what I mean. Those family members that you see once a year because, well, that’s about all you can handle. Maybe you are blessed to have no such people in your family, distant or close. Or maybe if you do, you don’t have to see them much. But I hear from people all the time…
Struggling with gratitude in the season of Thanksgiving? Here’s a question. How do you define yourself? There are only two ways—by what people think of you, or by what God thinks of you. Sadly, we spend much of our lives comparing ourselves to other people and trying to validate ourselves that way. And with social media, comparison-itis has become virtually an epidemic. And comparing ourselves to others, trying to please other people, does not set…
Nike used Labor Day to roll out a 30th-anniversary “Just Do It” ad campaign featuring Colin Kaepernick. “Believe in something,” reads the Nike tagline. “Even if it means sacrificing everything.” Nike needs to rethink its tagline. The truth is, since the first day, the NFL take-a-knee demonstration has lacked a simple but critical piece to any revolutionary, culture-bending, time-tested protest. Personal sacrifice. Effective protestors accept that sacrifice and perhaps great personal loss are real possibilities…
It was the first day of a college journalism class, and I was practically dizzy with idealistic anticipation. Then it happened. As the professor was introducing the syllabus, he came to the subject of “straight news reporting,” the meat of journalism. The phrase describes those news stories that pepper the front page and evokes images of gutsy journalists chasing Pulitzers. It supposedly distinguishes the reporting of news events from features or comics or, more importantly,…
“Fake news” is hardly new. Journalists, media spokespersons, and school yard gossips have been faking news since the day Eve pointed at Adam and said, “He made me do it.” But based on the attention it has received the last two years, you would think no one had ever heard of it before Donald Trump came along. Last weekend President Trump revealed that he met with New York Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger on July 20.…
A committee in the Episcopal Church (EC) met July 4 to begin the process of revising the denomination’s Book of Common Prayer. (Because nothing celebrates Independence Day like a church committee meeting). According to the Episcopal News Service, the committee heard fervent testimony from individuals who believe it is time for the EC to produce an inclusive-language revision “to correct the overwhelming use of masculine language to refer both to God and to human beings.…
Have you ever felt like you were taking the heat for someone else’s stupidity? Well, imagine that your name is “Red Hen.” On Friday, June 22, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was refused service at the Red Hen, a farm-to-table restaurant in Lexington, Virginia, by the co-owner, Stephanie Wilkinson. Wilkinson reportedly balked when she saw Sanders and refused to deliver her entrée because she serves as press secretary for Donald Trump. She asked…