Fruitful Detours
The Rev. James M. Lawson, Jr. died on June 10, 2024. I met him once. He was giving a speech, and I was a student. I remember him as a powerful and engaging speaker. When we talk about the Civil Rights movement, there are many names that come up — Martin Luther King, Jr., of […]
I spent the last few days at a training for United Methodist Mission Volunteers. I didn’t really know what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised. I had the germ of an idea that I could use my interest in learning Spanish to help others somehow. As I searched for non-profits to work with, I […]
For those of you who don’t really care about the “inside baseball” of the United Methodist Church (UMC), you can stop reading now. For the rest of you, Wow! What an amazing couple of weeks. The General Conference of the UMC just finished up, and there have been some giant leaps and jumps toward openness […]
There was a strange coincidence last week. Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday were on the same day, February 14, 2024. It seemed to me that this juxtaposition between love and death was worthy of some thought. Love is the most life-giving thing that I can think of. And ashes are about death. “Ashes to ashes […]
The number of great ideas in our world is unlimited. We barely scratch the surface of ideas as we study in school. I’ve always been curious and am constantly on the lookout for helpful theories or new subjects of interest. Here are a few great thinkers that have had a big impact on my life so […]
We have been called to be faithful, not successful. That’s a blessing, because we haven’t been successful in holding together the United Methodist Church. (Those of you who are not interested in this church insider baseball can stop reading now. Go back to my post on Clouds — that was a fun one.) The United […]
Inflation, interest rate increases, stock market declines, and worries about the future all make me a little skittish. I cut back on work this year, so I probably have fewer resources to work with than in the past. Nevertheless, I’m trying to pay attention to the text that says, “God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 […]
One of the things I love about the holiday season each year is seeing all the lights. I like to visit downtown Chicago after the streets have all been decorated, and see the displays that the stores have put up. The lights of the season have become a secular tradition, more associated with Santa Claus […]
Here’s another conspiracy theory that you may not have heard about — Birds Aren’t Real. (For starters, see my post on Conspiracy Theories.) It plays on the popular fear of the surveillance state, which has been a concern since the publication of George Orwell’s book 1984. From their website, birdsarentreal.com: “The Birds Aren’t Real movement […]
Every Spring, right around Easter time, the baseball season begins with its Opening Day. Like the preparatory season of Lent, the season is preceded by Spring Training. And like Easter, Opening Day brings new hope to baseball fans. “This could be the year!” I learned about prayer by watching — actually, mostly listening in those […]