Sunday, the first of February, was the Feast Day of St. Brigit (aka Brigid) of Kildare. It brought to mind one of my favorite prayers, which I designed as a piece of art. As it happens, Sunday also was the…
Baptism is a call to action
Have you ever heard a piece of music, read a poem or story or seen a piece of art that moved you so deeply you felt you knew exactly what the deeper meaning was that the composer, writer or artist…
Happy 50th birthday, Black History Month
Happy Birthday to Black History Month — 50 years federally recognized and 100 years strong in purpose, beginning as “Negro History Week” in 1926. While the United States formally recognized Black History Month in 1976, the acknowledgment of Black history…
This was worse than them calling me a ‘murderer’
I live and serve as a pastor in Moscow, Idaho, a town that is home to one of the largest and loudest Christian nationalist groups in the country right now. However, despite what you hear on the news, my town…
It’s time to do our duty
The unnecessary murder of 37-year-old nurse Alex Jeffrey Pretti is the tragic “same song, second verse.” What is that song? Unnecessary violence at the hands of untrained immigration enforcement officers who have no business with guns. In fact, ICE has…
‘I see you, I grieve with you, I stand with you’
My heart retches within me. I grieve for the lives of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Good was murdered while she attempted to drive away from an ICE agent, shot at least twice through her window after the ICE agent…
Why you gotta be so mean?
Someone posted this question on Reddit: “What’s the most hurtful thing anyone has ever said to you?” You might be surprised by how many were willing to reopen deep wounds by sharing the harshest words they have received. One woman…
My prayer for Don Lemon
When I learned of the arrest of journalist Don Lemon this morning, a few things ran through my head, one being the interview I did with him back in 2024 on his faith. I still remember our conversation like it…
Letter to the Editor: Outraged
Rep. Marc Veasey wrote an article for the Dallas Morning News Jan. 27. He exposed James Rodden, who serves as a chief counsel for ICE in Dallas. The Texas Standard traced an email back to him in which he described…
Moral courage in a time of crisis
The author delivered the following comments at “Together for Democracy” in Washington, D.C., Thursday, Jan. 29. Today is day 59 of the federal occupation of my hometown of Minneapolis. I’ve experienced 58 of those days. And let me tell…
When injustice rolls down like waters
Events transpiring in Minneapolis last week sent me back to the book of Amos 5:24: “But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream,” words worth staking one’s life on. But what happens when history takes…
It’s time for Christians to come together on immigration
Several years ago, I was serving as pastor of a church in rural Oklahoma. A group of women felt led to provide a baby shower for a young woman who attended our church. It was a tough situation for the…