I was given my first gun around age 10 to 12. It was a pellet rifle, which I still have today. My second gun was a 12-gauge double-barrel shotgun, a gift at about age 14, which I still have but only…
Humans in the hands of a silent God
Any more, as I hear about the bad and violent actions people take against other people, I shudder. I held onto a naivete about how “good” people — those who believe in God — were somehow better, that their relationship…
This school shooter is going viral for telling his story, but does it help or hurt?
Note: This article discusses attempted suicide, suicidal ideation and gun violence. In the life of a school shooter, what happens almost 20 years after the crime? On Feb. 9, 2004, 16-year-old Jon Romano left a suicide note at home before…
‘The moment we allow our hearts to go numb to the deaths of any children is the moment we shut down our humanity’
As someone whose ancestors immigrated to the United States from Lebanon, the faces of children suffering in the war in Israel remind me of my own children. The limp body of a 5-year-old girl being carried through the rubble, and…
More violence will not produce peace
I am concerned about the current war in Gaza, Israel and Palestine because I care about life, justice, truth and peace as a follower, ordained minister and pastor of a congregation of people whose faith and living are inspired by…
My heart and my mind are in conflict about Israel and Hamas
The unexpected Hamas incursion into Israel, and the resultant deaths that are yet occurring, bring to mind our own experience of 9/11. The rhetorical choices made after 9/11 included labeling the attackers as “terrorists” rather than “criminals,” designating 9/11 as…
Amid an already difficult immigration system, LGBTQ asylum seekers are in ‘grave danger’
The Biden administration’s asylum restrictions place LGBTQ migrants in grave danger by exposing them to longer waits in nations hostile to those with alternative sexual orientations and gender identities, immigration rights advocates said during a June 22 webinar. “It will…
Antisemitic-motivated assaults at record levels
For the third time in five years, the Anti-Defamation League has documented record-high cases of assault, harassment and vandalism targeting Jewish individuals, congregations and institutions. “In 2022, ADL tabulated 3,697 antisemitic incidents throughout the United States. This is a 36%…
To increase congregational health, decrease domestic violence
The physical health of congregants is, of course, a concern for pastors, just as their spiritual health is. If congregants suffer a broken limb, a stroke, a heart attack or cancer, the pastoral staff will be there to walk alongside…