I am a New Yorker (with a Southern accent, but nonetheless a New Yorker). Like many of us, I witnessed the planes hit the World Trade Center towers on 9/11; I lived through the anthrax scare; and I now run…
As seen on TV: Reclaiming our belief in miracles
Something very strange happens when I visit Walgreens. I feel it as I cross the threshold: a subtle pull like undertow, a siren call from the rocky shores of aisle three. I try to fight it by heading for the…
WJSHTOT? (Would Jesus spend his time on this?)
I’m afraid, my friends, that I have shocking news: it’s time to turn in your plastic WWJD bracelet. Yes, it was cool to own them in the ’90s. Yes, the plaque version paired nicely with Precious Moments figurines. But when…
It’s still life
By Susan Sparks Recently, I saw an image on Pinterest that said “Life*” at the top, then underneath, in small print by the asterisk, it said: “Available for a limited time only, limit one per customer, subject to change without…
Running toward the blast
By Susan Sparks Readers, do me a favor. Fold your arms and don the surliest expression you can manage. Done? Good. Now you know what my last standup comedy audience looked like. Mercifully, times like these don’t happen often. When…
‘Leveling up’ religion
By Susan Sparks Many probably think I’m on a slippery slope to hell. I drink beer, I dance, and God help me, I’m a Baptist minister. However, it’s not the Stella Artois or tango lessons that are greasing my downward…
The lifeboat of laughter
By Susan Sparks The day after 9/11, I was working for the Red Cross taking inbound calls for missing persons in the fallen towers. Somewhere mid-morning I received a call from a woman whose husband was missing. Her call was…
Female jet pilot? Sure. Preacher? No.
By Susan Sparks One third of the U.S. Supreme Court justices are women; more than 50 female astronauts have traveled into space; and 41 women have won the Nobel Peace Prize. But place a woman in a pulpit and blood…