For the last three Sundays in our Gospel readings we have heard Jesus telling his disciples what life will be like for those who follow him. At first, life as a disciple sounds pretty good. Jesus gives his friends and followers the authority to cast out demons, to...
Her name escaped me long ago, but her actions will haunt me forever. The rural Tennessee woman, whose story I covered as a reporter for the Nashville Banner, was a person of faith, who always tried to do what she believed God would have her do, no matter how difficult...
There’s a funny thing about history. It changes depending on who is telling it. For many years, history textbooks told the story of this country’s past from the viewpoint of white men. Stories of women, Native Americans, African Americans, and other minorities were...
I was talking to a friend a few days ago, who commented that she had heard people talking about the three-day holiday weekend. “When did Fathers’ Day become a national holiday?’ she asked. Well, today is Fathers’ Day, and we give thanks for all...
A few years ago I visited a friend in Wilmington, Delaware, and preached at her church, Trinity Parish. The more than 100-year-old church was once one of the predominant features of the downtown Wilmington landscape. But now its spires are dwarfed by the immense...
The pattern is the same every year. We celebrate Easter and God’s victory over death in the resurrection of Jesus, the son of God. Then 50 days later we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit to the disciples at Pentecost. And then the next Sunday, before we launch...
John Howard Griffin was 16 when he left his home in a small south Georgia town to study in France in the years before World War II. Once there, he joined the French Underground and began helping to smuggle Jewish people out of Germany, putting them on boats to safety...
In Sunday School this spring we are viewing a video series called Living the Questions that explores what it means to be a progressive Christian, how and what we believe. Last week, the discussion centered around how we interpret scripture, including how a story may...
