A Grateful Man

I knew it was coming some day but never imagined that it might actually happen. As of January 1, 2016, I am fully retired. For the first time since September 1960, I am no longer employed as a minister and no longer responsible for the life of an institution. I worked as a Presbyterian minister […]

Community in a Time of Radical Individualism

It is intriguing that the Republican Presidential candidate who is leading in most polls at the moment, and the Democratic candidate very close to tying the front-runner are both outliers. Malcolm Gladwell wrote a bestseller by that title and defines outlier as “something that is situated away from or classed differently from a main or […]

Stop Judging, Start Listening

The headline in the Chicago Tribune announced: ” ‘Stunning change, say local Catholics.” The following article about the preliminary report of an international assembly of Roman Catholic bishops convened by Pope Francis to discuss church policy and attitudes regarding divorce and remarriage, same sex relationships and marriage, and heterosexual sexual relations before marriage, was remarkable […]

On Change and Transition

When I arrived at Fourth Presbyterian Church in the summer of 1985 many in the congregation could not envision a future without Elam Davies. There was great skepticism about the new minister who would no doubt start to change things, maybe even beloved traditions and practices and who, simply, was not Elam Davies. Transitions, especially […]

Keeping a Good Thanksgiving: Part 3

Hello again from all of us at Hold to the Good, We hope you are enjoying Rev. Buchanan’s Thanksgiving Series! As he is so apt to do, John will now take us on an historical journey to the roots of American Thanksgiving via the social and religious politics of 17th century England and the harrowing adventure […]

God’s Own Image

God so loved the world. John 3:16 The evolution of the way sexual orientation is understood and viewed is surely one the most significant transformations in my life time. People my age cringe when recalling what used to be said and what we used to assume and believe about sexual orientation. It is almost difficult […]

A Sense of Common Ministry

Father Andrew Greeley’s death last week set me to thinking about the changing relationships between Catholics and Protestants and the unique relationship between Catholic and Protestant clergy. Greeley suffered a tragic accident and brain injury five years ago and has been in ill health ever since. He died in his home on May 29th. He […]