The message of stars — so far away, or are they? Stars draw us to the light in dark days, especially now. Exchanging letters, cards and words of hope means more than ever. I’d like to share some creative thoughts…
Without local journalism, accountability falters
I have profound respect for good journalism, especially from small-town newspapers. I spent a good portion of my early career in the industry doing ad sales, then transitioned to writing and eventually management. Today, my column is sent to publications…
The uninvited guest
Grief is most unwelcome when it arrives unannounced. Neither our lack of invitation nor our lack of preparation discourages it. It is the unforeseen guest at the family gathering, barging in unbidden and heralded by tears. Yet, grief serves a…
What’s the difference between the Kennedy Center and a wedding cake?
So, what’s the difference between the Kennedy Center and a wedding cake? The First Amendment rights of wedding cake decorators are more secure than those of the center’s performing artists. Let me explain. In the same week President Donald Trump…
Trump’s Nigeria strikes: A misleading narrative
On Christmas Day, President Donald Trump announced the United States had launched airstrikes in Sokoto State in Northwestern Nigeria “to protect the country’s Christian population from the terrorist group (ISIS).” Although Nigeria’s Foreign Ministry acknowledged collaboration with the U.S., many…
Remembering Stephanie
On the third Sunday in Advent in 1991, as we returned home from Crescent Hill Baptist Church in Louisville, Ky., 16-year-old Stephanie Erin Leonard announced to us: “I think it’s time for me to be baptized.” It was the first…
Letter to the Editor: American Baptists do things differently
I am proud to be an American Baptist. Our denomination is not perfect; far from it. But we have been on the right side of history more often than not. On this day, I feel compelled to point out what…
No policy required: Choosing joy across differences
On Sunday afternoon, I put together a small surprise for my niece. Her mom was taking her to Disney, and I wanted the moment to feel real before the magic officially began. I bought shirts, pressed them myself, wrapped everything…
Mary and the long work of God
Advent teaches us how to live inside a promise that hasn’t yet finished unfolding. The light is thinner. The nights arrive early. We find ourselves listening more carefully, because certainty has loosened its grip. Scripture doesn’t rush to resolve this…
The stilling power of Advent‘s drama
The photo below is not an award-winner, like those of so many highly publicized contests. But it will from this day forward shape my Advent imagination. This photo features Wanda Hernández Murga, coordinator of the Kairos Center, a ministry of…
‘When the wicked are in power …’
“Advent is the season that, when properly understood, does not flinch from the darkness that stalks us all in this world,” Fleming Rutledge says in Advent: The Once and Future Coming of Jesus Christ. In these final days of Advent, we…
Hanukkah shadows, Hanukkah light
Many mornings I go on a long, slow sunrise prayer walk — what the mystics call “goal-less walking” or “life lived at three miles an hour.” These days, in the neighborhood where I walk, there are a number of delightful…