“Well, honey, do you think this work is making a difference?” I ask my daughter, Lucy. As a college student in New York, her part-time job is to be a Democracy Coach for high school students. Twice a week, she travels to Harlem on the bus to meet with the students, under the wise eye… Read More
The Pastoral is Political: Short-Term Memory
We are the dead; short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders fields. from In Flanders Fields by John McCrae Sunday, November 11, 2018 was the one-hundredth anniversary of Armistice Day, the end of World War One in Europe. The festivities have been… Read More
Pastoral is Political: Election Issue
It’s the day before the midterm elections here in the Not-Yet-United States of America. You can feel the buzz on the interwebs. I spent months trying to figure out what GoTV was, thinking I was missing a new Netflix or Hulu, only to finally figure out it means “Get Out the Vote.” I’m receiving nudges… Read More
The Pastoral is Political: How brave are we?
Yesterday, I sat in a pew at worship, in that strange position that I occupy these days as a mostly non-preaching preacher. My wife had scrapped her planned stewardship kick-off sermon to reflect the events of the week, naming how hard it can be to welcome the stranger and be a neighbor to all while… Read More
The Pastoral is Political: Walls
Beyond the border, we saw organized and eloquent graffiti – some local, some by Banksy. It seemed strange to elevate a symbol and instrument of division and disruption to celebrity status; but perhaps the spotlight is preferable to the searchlight. Read More
The Pastoral is Political: The Cost of Environmental Disaster
The sky was blue with fluffy white clouds on this mild October day in Central Scotland. It was the calm after Storm Callum, which is still causing havoc in other parts of Scotland and the rest of the UK. Floods and landslides have caused death and destruction. Lives and livelihoods lie in ruin. The reported… Read More
The Pastoral is Political: Connecting columbus
CW: I can’t avoid talking about violence today, so if you aren’t in a place to read about that right now, please tend to your heart and maybe come back later. If you’re a white woman in particular (like me), I do hope you come back, or stretch your resilience muscles to take this in… Read More
“No Incentive”… to speak the truth
Last night, Senator Jeff Flake (R, Arizona) was asked on 60 Minutes if he could have/would have delayed the vote on Judge Brett Kavanaugh for the US Supreme Court had he been running for re-election. Scott Pelley: Senator Flake, you’ve announced that you’re not running for re-election and I wonder, could you have done this,… Read More
The Pastoral Is Political: #BurnCandlesNotRainbows
Chicago Priest Burns Rainbow Banner: On Sept. 14, Father Paul Kalchik, priest at Resurrection Catholic Church in the neighborhood of Avondale in Chicago took a church banner that displayed a rainbow and a cross, cut it into pieces, and burned it in the Easter Vigil fire pit in front of a few congregation members. In… Read More
The Pastoral is Political: Why Kavanaugh Should be Held Accountable
As a person of faith, I believe that the world can be better than it is. That’s the hope that religion gives us – that we can transcend self-interest and care for those around us as we care for ourselves. It is from this perspective that I want to shift the paradigm as we talk… Read More
