Tomorrow we witness the passing of presidential power from one man to another. I am hopeful it will be peaceful and that our nation will maintain its bonds of unity. I’m banking on it. I look to Lincoln’s first inaugural address to ensure my wishful thinking isn’t just that. Lincoln tells America: “We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and

Over the past four years, and past four months, with each new disturbing piece of reality connected to this outgoing administration and each new assault on democracy, I find myself asking, what would Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. say?

Over the past four years, and past four months, with each new disturbing piece of reality connected to this outgoing administration and each new assault on democracy, I find myself asking, what would Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. say? So, I turned to his writing. In our time of division and bitterness he says: “The one thing about bitterness is its blindness. Bitterness has not the capacity to make the distinction between some and all.” In response to division he replied: “Whenever Pharaoh wanted

Since Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, people have been blaming others. A recent example:

Since Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, people have been blaming others. A recent example: On January 6 th , our U.S. Capitol Building was breached and overrun by rabid Trump supporters causing at least 5 deaths, numerous severe injuries, and untold property damage. One of the talking points has been criticism of law enforcement for failure to gear up and react more swiftly to the attack. While there is growing validity to some of those complaints, my blood boils when I hear congressional

Though my own heritage is a wee bit more Scottish than Irish, I feel a deep connection to all things Celtic and I recently watched a new movie set in Ireland. Not wanting to give too much away, the story involved a ragtag group of folks coming together as a community to help the lead character get back on her feet.

Though my own heritage is a wee bit more Scottish than Irish, I feel a deep connection to all things Celtic and I recently watched a new movie set in Ireland. Not wanting to give too much away, the story involved a ragtag group of folks coming together as a community to help the lead character get back on her feet. The ancient Irish term, meitheal , was used to describe communal effort for the good of one member. As one character noted, when we come together as a community in the service of

Rep. Andy Kim could simply not bear the rotunda looking like an abandoned parking lot, so he donned gloves, grabbed a broom and waste bag and began to clean up. The insurrectionists had wreaked havoc and desecrated The People’s House, a place Kim loved. Rep. Kim is a child of immigrants who loved the United States and its ideals, in the aftermath, before the vote, he was the lone person cleaning up after the carnage.

Rep. Andy Kim could simply not bear the rotunda looking like an abandoned parking lot, so he donned gloves, grabbed a broom and waste bag and began to clean up. The insurrectionists had wreaked havoc and desecrated The People’s House, a place Kim loved. Rep. Kim is a child of immigrants who loved the United States and its ideals, in the aftermath, before the vote, he was the lone person cleaning up after the carnage. As the mob broke through the police ranks and flooded the capital with the

Even though we're done with Christmas, I'm stuck back on the story when Gabriel told Mary she was favored of God. He said, "Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you. She was greatly troubled at this saying and tried to discern what sort of greeting that might be" (Luke 1: 28 – 29, ESV).