Imagine my excitement the other night when I got advance notice about a personal appearance Oct. 3 by Rob Wittman, my U.S. House representative, only a mile or so from my house. Could it be real? I’d heard of Wittman…
Five years after US exit, Afghan women wait, hope and quietly study
Razia rarely leaves her home, but she has big dreams. An Afghan woman in her early 20s, Razia lives with her six adult siblings in her brother’s house outside Kabul. Their parents are dead, so they all pitch in to…
An Afghan testimony: ‘I’m not that girl’
If you think nearly five years of enforced isolation — including losing the right to education — has broken the spirit of women and girls in Afghanistan, meet Medina (named changed for her protection). Medina comes from a well-educated family….
Fighting fear and dehumanization in Richmond
Actions speak loudly, but words also count in a time when many who should be speaking out about injustice remain silent. A public statement read by a group of Christian leaders Feb. 27 on the steps of First Baptist Church…
Jack Martin, bringer of hope to Thai prisoners
Jack Martin, who pioneered ministry to prison inmates in Thailand during his nearly 35 years as a Baptist missionary, died Sept. 20 after a long illness. He was 90. Like many pioneers, Martin didn’t take no for an answer when…
Bullying homeless people isn’t just wrong, it won’t work
I hate to admit it, but I used to hold the same view of homeless people many other folks seem to have. Most of ‘em are winos and druggies, I thought. Headcases and drifters. Derelicts pestering me for money on…
The word of the Lord to Donald Trump
We read from Isaiah 1 on Sunday, and the prophet didn’t mince words about Judah’s need to repent, not just of personal sin and idolatry but of remaining silent in the face of rampant injustice and oppression: Wash and make…
‘Toxic empathy’ isn’t our problem; hardness of heart is
I’m new to the “empathy is sin” debate, which has been bouncing around for years in the rightwing Christian echo chamber. It’s gained new traction in the wider culture recently as rabble rousers such as Elon Musk and JD Vance…
The U.S.-European alliance is dead
For a bunch of America First isolationists, Donald Trump and his merry band of busybodies sure seem to enjoy interfering in the independence and sovereignty of other countries. Not in Ukraine, mind you. The ally who needs us most is…
Jimmy Carter and the strength of fields
I’m thinking about the late poet James Dickey tonight as I reflect upon Jimmy Carter’s impact on my life. Dickey became famous for his terrifying 1970 novel Deliverance, about four suburban weekend warriors from Atlanta (Dickey’s hometown and mine) who…
My slow slide into addiction
I started drinking after my wife died in 2017. It wasn’t a plunge to drown my sorrows, exactly. More of a slow slide. The widower buddies who helped me get through that brutal first year of loss met at a…
The politics of joy
While having lunch at a restaurant the other day, I overheard a college-age server behind the counter telling co-workers she wished her friends wouldn’t get angry every time politics comes up. “Why can’t people just be positive for a change?”…