Category Archives: Faith & Witness

The Nativity (ca. 1550–1600) by Jheronimus Bosch. Original from The Rijksmuseum.

Just for Today: A Christmas Wish

Have you ever witnessed the wonder and delight on the faces of young children as they catch a glimpse, through a partially opened door, of a Christmas tree laden with gifts? Or seen the excitement as the Christmas light suddenly blaze forth from trees and

The Nativity (ca. 1550–1600) by Jheronimus Bosch. Original from The Rijksmuseum.

Which Way Home?

What a bother it must have been! In the dead of winter having to walk well over eighty miles (and that’s as the ‘crow flies’!) simply to go from their home in Nazareth to get to Bethlehem to take a census! In the dead of

Sunlight shining through leaf

I’m Just an Old Chunk of Coal

I’m just an old chunk of coal, But I’m gonna be a diamond some day, I’m gonna grow and glow ’til I’m so blue pure perfect, I’m gonna put a smile on ev’rybody’s face. I’m gonna kneel and pray ev’ry day, Lest I should become

Sunlight shining through leaf

Divine Inspiration

People often come up with funny analogies to describe God – “God the Artist,” “God the Teacher,” “God the Composer,” or “God The Counselor,” to name a few. The most interesting one I heard recently was “God the Theme Park Ride Restraint System,” holding us

Sunlight shining through leaf

Discovering Our Glory

It may come as a surprise to many readers that Christianity teaches that we are fundamentally good. Most people think that Christianity only teaches that we are basically evil creatures and only Jesus can save us from our evil ways. But there is a strain

Girl in fairy dress in a field

I Do Believe in Fairies! I Do! I Do!

I do believe in fairies. And I’m going to clap my hands and shout it at the top of my lungs, just like Peter Pan did to save Tinkerbell from Captain Hook. Do you remember that scene in Peter Pan after Captain Hook has poisoned

Dove flying in Lisbon, Portugal

Re-Imaging as a Way of Discovering God-Within-Us

In this world of multi-media and ‘the age of information,’ we can find someone who says something about anything. What I mean is this: if you want to go out and find an article that tells you “God hates shrimp,” you can find it and

Dove flying in Lisbon, Portugal

Loving Our Straight Neighbors

Last July, I attended a close relative’s wedding shower that had the misfortune of being held one day before Congress voted on the Federal Marriage Amendment. Not having had the clairvoyant luxury of knowing SJR 40 would get shot down in cloture, I was, understandably

Dove flying in Lisbon, Portugal

Ontologically Incapable

It was 1994 and I was a seminarian serving as the Legislative Aide to the House of Bishops’ Committee on Constitution at the General Convention in Indianapolis. The chair of that committee was William Wantland – the then Bishop of Eau Claire – and he