A Woman’s Choice

The Word became flesh and lived among us. (John 1:14) In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself. (2 Corinthians 5:19) Incarnation has been, for me, the defining issue, the guiding light since I was ordained to the Ministry of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church. God, we dare to believe, cares so […]

The Unconscious Revolutionary

It was Confirmation day at our church last Sunday. Twenty-two 8th graders sat in the front pews, stood up and answered some questions about their faith and promised to be faithful members of the congregation and of the church wherever they go in the future, and knelt as the minister and Elders laid hands on […]

Dangerous Words

One of the most vexing and sobering historical questions is how, in the 1920’s and 30’s, a nation and culture that produced sublime poetry and music (Goethe and Bach), important philosophers (Hegel and Nietzsche), and elegant theology (Luther and Bultmann), evolved into a murderous, racist, militaristic dictatorship. Much has been written about the anomaly of […]

Building Walls instead of Bridges

I simply do not know what to say about Donald Trump. I grew up in a home where what was going on in the world and in the nation was talked about regularly at the dinner table. Politics was often a spirited discussion between my father, a dyed-in-the-wool Republican and conservative in almost all his […]

Fear Not

Every day, it seems, Donald Trump says something outrageous, offensive, down right mean and frequently contrary to the very highest and noblest values upon which the United States of America is founded. And every day his poll numbers rise. What in the world is going on? Pundits are scratching their heads. Republican Party leaders are […]

Mother of Exiles

There is a lot I love about this country and at the top of the list is that the United States of America, from its inception, has been a nation of immigrants. One of the least attractive dimensions of my country is the way it has treated the only truly native Americans. But what makes […]

Becoming like Little Children

When Jesus told his disciples one day that unless they became like children they would not qualify for entrance to the Kingdom he surely didn’t mean childishness. They had just asked a very adult question, a typically human question about status and privilege: “Who is the greatest in the Kingdom?” His response – “become like […]

Goodly Heritage

Two recent articles in the Christian Century magazine have set me to thinking about the mystery of how any of us comes to be who we are. Brian Doyle’s Two Uncles made me think about my own unique and occasionally peculiar uncles. They sat at family gatherings “silent as mountains” Doyle writes which reminded me of […]

A Church of Human Beings

Frederick Buechner has been my companion and mentor over the years without even knowing it. I have learned much from him and have enjoyed thoroughly reading his graceful, uniquely descriptive and imaginative writing. I suspect that I have read almost everything he wrote and published and continue, now and then, to pull one of his […]

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 […]