I deliver Meals on Wheels on Fridays. My routes vary, but the people I serve tend to be older, low-income, often disabled, living alone. That fits the profile of a typical Meals on Wheels client: The program seeks to assist…
The two Georges, the world and American leadership
Amid the recent tumult of events, the 100th birthday of George P. Shultz Dec. 13 passed relatively unnoticed. As did his death Feb. 6. But attention must be paid. Shultz was one of the ultimate “inside the Beltway” guys, those…
Ten years after, could the Arab Spring bloom again?
If you think you’ve got it bad in this season of darkness, disease and division, take a moment to consider the agony of the people of the Middle East. A decade ago, the new year of 2011 brought soaring hopes…
10 prayers for 2021 (if we survive January)
My favorite meme of the new year: “I’d like to cancel my subscription to 2021. I’ve experienced the free seven-day trial, and I’m not interested.” As post-holiday COVID-19 deaths surged the first week of January, a sitting president incited a…
The thing with feathers
I put up my 4-foot Christmas tree a few days ago. It took about 15 minutes from box to display. I slid one skinny pole into the other, draped two or three boxes of ornaments over the stiff branches and…
Women and the call to lead
For the first time, a woman has been elected vice president of the United States. It only took 231 years. Kamala Harris carries the hopes and ambitions of many generations of women of all colors who aspire to lead in…
Pilate, Kellyanne and us
Therefore Pilate said to him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth….
How democracy dies: ‘Give us a king’
The fall of ancient Israel began almost before it rose — when the people demanded of Samuel, “Give us a king to lead us.” You can read the whole, sorry story in 1 Samuel 8. The aging prophet who had…
Millennial, Gen Z Christians support missions — with reservations
Christian missionaries face a world of challenges even in “normal” times — unfriendly governments, hostile social and religious forces, cultural barriers and language struggles, to name a few. Now, a global pandemic has made the basic acts of travel and…