The last time I worried about vampires was when I was about eleven years old. Of all of the shape-shifting monsters, vampires were the scariest because they could creep in through the creaks and crevices of your house as a barely discernible mist. They could also be deceptively charming and beautiful before they sucked the […]
Not All Vampires Live in Transylvania or Texas or . . . Read More »
One of the many gifts I received from my mother is a healthy skepticism about religiosity. Although she was a deeply devout, churchgoing, Bible-loving, Sunday School teacher, she was intensely suspicious of anything that felt like performative spirituality. I remember a neighbor who would routinely greet her with “Praise the Lord!” – instead of a
“Biblelistically” Blessed: Liberating Christianity from White Supremacy Read More »
I know next to nothing about barnyards and stables. In fact, I just learned that a manger is a feeding trough for animals. Other barnyard images that come to my mind involve buzzing flies, odious smells, as well as animal excretions and emissions of various sorts. I am also pretty sure you have to watch
By Way of Prologue Anyone wanting an easy listening overview of a city’s attractions knows exactly what to do: climb aboard a climate-controlled tour bus. For the price of a ticket and minimal mental effort, you get to sit back, relax, and get an infotainment version of local history. Those were the likely expectations
I was once again honored to join the community of the Unitarian Universalist Church in Bloomington, in their virtual pulpit this past Mother’s Day. Thank you to Senior Minister Reverend Mary Ann Macklin for her warm and welcoming invitation. The holiday, Mother’s Day, as a ritual of recognition, elicits a wide range of emotions as
There are some images that leave an indelible imprint on the brain. As they should. One that is burned into my consciousness is that of the young student-athlete – standing frozen and stoop shouldered in a posture of parasympathetic surrender while his head is shorn of his precious locks. He had only two options: to
What Shall We Do about the Negative Space? Read More »
Is there a woman anywhere who hasn’t heard: “the older you get, the more you become like your mother”? Typically, these words are intended as a warning or an indictment, not a compliment. How then do we explain that annual rite of spring, committed to exorbitant displays of devotion and no small investment of dollars
Family Matters (with a little help from mother-wit) Read More »
It’s 2018, and you might think that headlines such as these would be uncommon. Florida Middle School Teacher Hosts White Nationalist Podcast Report Finds US Civil Rights Gains Stalled or Reversed Police Officer Fired for Stomping Handcuffed Man Is Reinstated Terror on Doorsteps: Blasts Unnerve Austin African-American Historic Site on Nantucket Defaced by Racist
Lift Every Voice (or Towards a Spirituality of Hope) Read More »
Part of the legacy of growing up in a scripture-rich environment is that I sometimes find myself totally captivated by a vivid image. As I was reflecting on the past year, it was this image that came to mind: “By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down, and we wept when we remembered
By the Waters of Babylon (or Toward a Spirituality of Hope) Read More »
Yes, It Does Take a Village It happens whenever small groups of justice-conscious people find themselves in casual spaces discussing serious social problems. As the conversation nears closure, someone will invariably say, “It takes a village”. We have all heard it and possibly said ourselves that it takes a village to raise a child.
Yes, It Does Takes a Village Read More »
